


Fluff: The Angel of National City

by Local_Asshole



Category: Supergirl (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-08-28 08:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 38,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8437924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Local_Asshole/pseuds/Local_Asshole
Summary: Same title as my other work, only it is consisted of the fluff, but no plot, since the original is violent and may be triggering for some people. However, there is sex, but not explicitly graphic.





	1. Service

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy asks Kara for a favor, which turns out to be whether or not she could live with the young blonde following her break-up with Jimmy Olsen as she finds it too awkward to continue living with her ex-boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Service

* * *

Kara stirred from her nap after a muffled knock on the door reverberated through her apartment. She checked the time. 3 P.M.

Apparently, the person was impatient and banged on the entrance once again with an increase in volume.

The blonde startled awake, groggily pulling up her navy-blue sweatpants before acknowledging the guest at the door, who continued to increase the amplitude of the knocks, "I'm coming! Hold on!"

The hammering halted immediately, Kara was generally a very tolerant young woman, but she did feel a little bit irked as she shuffled her way towards the entrance, unhinging the lock, swinging the large plank of wood wide open.

Her vexation vanished once she saw who it was.

"Major – I mean, Director Lane?"

The brunette looked slightly disgruntled, which was rare for the soldier as she always maintained a professional demeanor. Kara noticed the younger Lane's appearance was clad in a crimson cashmere sweater and black skinny jeans – quite a bit less formal than usual. The blonde then looked down at her own outfit, comparing them and mentally cursing at herself for how under-dressed she was at the impeccable occasion; finally, she realized that her top was completely unbuttoned.

"Oh, uh..." Lucy averted her eyes and took a step back, "Ahem..."

Kara squealed, her face heating up, and ran her hands through her unruly blonde locks before scrambling to button up her shirt, "S-Sorry about that, heh..." She shook her head and gave a nervous grin.

The Kryptonian was very thankful that her guest had not noticed her rosy pink face, but Lucy seemed flushed as well.

"Excuse me, Kara, for the interruption," the soldier coughed out awkwardly, "but I sort of, kind of, need a...favor..."

Kara did not hesitate and gave a kind, gentle smile, "Yeah. Totally. Sure." She would not refuse to help her boss, let alone her friend. They have worked with each other for about a year now; they may not have had time to forge something like Alex's and Kara's relationship, but their bond was treated with the utmost respect by the both of them.

However, Lucy was a bit surprised by her quick reply, initially she did not think she would come this far, but she continued, "Um, James and I..."

A pause.

"We broke up."

"Oh," Kara did not know how to react, "What do you need? Do you want to come in? I can make some tea or coffee, maybe get a snack for you?"

The Lane raised her hands up, "Woah, it's all right, Kara, we're both still on good terms, I just needed to...find someone to room with?"

The last few words of her sentence had a raised intonation.

The blonde tilted her head to the side, unsure of what she just heard, "Pardon?"

Lucy sighed, rephrasing herself, "Would I be able to move in with you? Living with an ex-boyfriend is kind of awkward..."

Strangely, for the both of them, Kara instantly agreed.

"You...You _what_?" the brunette said, the shock caused her arching brow, but her stiffened posture relaxed.

"Of course. You're always welcome here, Director Lane."

The brunette held her index finger up and corrected her, "Lucy." Then she smiled, "Just call me Lucy. We've worked with each other for a year at the D.E.O. _and_ CatCo, _and_ we've had several lunch breaks together, so you can just call me Lucy. Plus, we're technically not working at the moment."

"Oh...no problem..." Kara laughed, "So when will you be moving in?"

"I can gather my stuff and be here by tomorrow night?"

"Do you need help?"

The Lane scoffed, "No thanks, Supergirl, I think I can move a few boxes by myself."

The blonde shrugged, "Okay, whatever you say. Suit yourself."

* * *

"Told you so," Kara snickered, carrying a load of cardboard boxes that towered above her head compared to Lucy's three plastic containers that even she was struggling up the stairs with.

Supergirl tossed the column into one hand before raising her other to make a puppet out of it, mocking the brunette's previous statement, "'I think I can move a few boxes myself'."

"Shut up..." Lucy chuckled.

Kara stuck her tongue out and reached over to pick up the top-most crate her friend was holding.

"Hey!" the brunette scoffed, "I may not be as strong as you, but I can definitely handle a couple of boxes."

"That's what you said last time," the Kryptonian reminded her.

"Rude!"

The blonde was caught off guard by the slight bump Lucy made with her shoulder, causing the heavy tower to topple over.

"Careful!" Kara panicked, before hovering over the shorter woman to shield her from a possible concussion.

Once the rain of boxes stopped, she released Lucy, the brunette heaving a relieved sigh, "Thanks, you're my hero, Supergirl."

"Don't mention it," the blonde smiled, "It _is_ my _job_ after all."

"Kara! Your glasses!" Lucy picked up the broken frame from the carpeted floor of the building, "I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, it's no problem!" the blonde reached up to her face to push her glasses up.

Only they were not there.

So, she attempted to cover the habitual mistake she made by brushing loose strands of hair over her ear.

Unfortunately, she was unable to cover up the faux pas.

Lucy chuckled and Kara face-palmed, partly to hide her embarrassed, reddened cheeks, "Oh my god, I can't believe I just did that..."

The soldier brushed the broken lenses before placing them on the taller woman's face, "Ta-da! At least some of the glass is still intact."

As if on cue, the frame completely fell apart.

Kara slouched, pouting, and blowing a strand of hair in front of her face away.

Lucy folded her arms, smirking, "Don't be so cross, I'll buy you a new pair; this time ones that are almost as indestructible as you."

"I actually have another pair," the blonde replied, "So there's no need for that. I usually keep the lead-lined ones in my apartment on my days off."

"Do you also check people out with your x-ray vision on those 'days off'?" Lucy teased.

The Kryptonian was caught off guard by the statement and awkwardly shuffled her feet, "N-No, I don't."

The brunette took her body language's answer differently though and laughed, "Oh my God, you _do_!"

The alien was, quite frankly, being honest, "No! I don't! I swear I'm not a pervert!"

"Sure..." the shorter woman continued to tease.

"Well," Kara changed the subject, "Now look at what you did, we have to carry all of this stuff up again!"

Lucy waved her arm, "Stop whining. You can take care of that, Supergirl."

The blonde squinted her eyes, "Fine, but I'm probably going to be complaining about this for the entire day."

She continued, "Also, now _I_ get to choose the dinner for tonight. I'm going to order some pizza."

The brunette shrugged, "Sounds good to me."

* * *

Lucy sighed, plopping herself next to Kara on the couch, "Those boxes were a bitch to move."

The blonde clicked her tongue, her voice harbored an annoyed tone to it, " _I'm_ the one who moved those boxes."

Before Lucy knew it she felt a push and was suddenly on the ground.

Glancing up, she noticed Kara had made herself comfortable, utilizing all of the space on the couch.

The brunette glared daggers at her roommate, but they were ignored as the Kryptonian smirked and made to turn on the television, taking a bite of her cheesy pizza, "Movie night?"

Lucy gave an enthusiastic nod, the pair of legs raising up high in the air to make room before resting down on top of her lap.

Before they could select a movie, the door clicked open and in came Alex, who stiffened at the sight of the head of the D.E.O., who made herself comfortable on her little sister's couch, "Director Lane? Why're you here? It's late and..."

"Relax, Danvers, I've just decided to move in with Supergirl," giving the agent a sly smile, which was complemented by Kara's beaming face.

"Want to join us for movie night, sis?"

Alex glanced between the two quizzically, back and forth, then back and forth again, "Um, I was just checking up on you, and since when were you two this close?"

Kara shrugged, taking another bite from the pizza, "We both worked at CatCo, we've spent a few of our lunch breaks together. So are you going to join us or not?"

"You know what," Alex pondered, "I think I'm going to leave you two _roomies_ alone so you both can get to know each other better."

"It's all right," Lucy chided, gesturing to the Kryptonian sitting next to her, "This one's a lot of work to deal with, so I can understand why you wouldn't want to stay the night."

The blonde gasped and flared her nostrils before chomping a large piece of pizza and swallowing it down, poking the offending person with her toes, "How dare you, I could melt your face right now if I wanted to."

Lucy ignored her, "So how's Hank – or...J'onn, doing these past few days without me?"

"Well, he's been director for a long time so he's handling the abandonment well," the agent smirked, "We still call him Director Henshaw though, it just kind of stuck. Plus, not every human can get the Martian inflection in 'J'onn' or 'J'onzz' right."

"But officially I'm the director," Lucy chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess, but we're so used to 'Director Henshaw', and nobody in the D.E.O. can decide whether to settle on 'Director Lane' or 'Major Lane', so it's just all over the place honestly."

"Understandable, I usually like taking the field jobs instead of sitting behind monitors in a cave all day."

Alex snickered for a bit before shaking her head and closing the door.

* * *

Their first week together was not as awkward as either of them had assumed, save for one horridly embarrassing moment, at least for the Lane.

Lucy did not often have time to revisit her childhood or actually relax and have fun, so whenever she was positive her roommate would be absent for a few hours, she would slip into her baby blue pajamas complemented with Kara's squeaky bunny slippers and watch reruns of _Tom and Jerry_.

Being the Army general's daughter was as unpleasant as it sounded. When Lois estranged herself from the family after their mother had died, Samuel Lane was much more protective of his second and remaining daughter. Lucy was sent to boarding schools and boot camps over the summers, forcing her to grow up much faster than the other children as the general was often absent from the house for his duties. The moment she turned seventeen, she enlisted for the reserves in the Army. The moment she graduated from Harvard's law department, she was lost and confused as to the direction her life would be going; after several months of being a lawyer, she decided she was unhappy and applied to be a full and active member of the military.

There were times she did not regret the decision, mainly because of meeting new friends and traveling, garnering new experiences every day that she was dispatched. Eventually, she gained the title of Major Lane, making her father proud; Lucy thought seeing him happy would do the same for her, and as much as she tried convincing herself of that, she was wrong.

Most of the time she hated being in the Army; leading a squadron of her friends and subordinates into a possibly unwinnable battle was not particularly pleasant. Then again, she thought anyone from either side of the war were not victors. So many soldiers and innocents killed before her very eyes, sometimes under her own orders, direct or indirect. The casualties would often come back to haunt her: friends, comrades, family, and people who looked up to their leader.

Her post-traumatic stress disorder did not affect her nearly at all anymore, for which she was thankful. Still, Lucy never knew why she ended up working for the government after being honorably discharged. It was frightening to think that there was a part of her that actually enjoyed being on the field. Being a lawyer was too dull, too mundane.

A jingle of keys interrupted her reverie. She panicked.

_She's not supposed to be home now._

The door swung wide open and Kara halted, soaking up the image of Lucy in her silky baby blue pajamas watching old cartoons.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Lucy blurted out, red faced.

"Are those...my bunny slippers?" the blonde pointed, a dumbfounded expression painted her face.

The brunette buried her face in her hands, "This is embarrassing, I'm so sorry, it's just that I don't have a lot of time to sit back and relax. I know that's no excuse but..."

Kara burst into tears of laughter, "It's fine! I actually find it sort of charming."

_I wonder why it didn't work out with you and James..._

"No, it's not fine, especially not ' _charming_ '!" Lucy cried, her blush intensifying.

The blonde set down her keys and plopped onto the cushion of the couch next to her, "Okay, I won't tell anyone if you give me my slippers back and I can watch with you."

Lucy found herself nodding at Kara's bright, white smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	2. Unspoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy asks Kara for a favor, which turns out to be whether or not she could live with the young blonde following her break-up with Jimmy Olsen as she finds it too awkward to continue living with her ex-boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Unspoken

* * *

Soon, the days eventually turned into weeks and the roommates began to do just about everything together; from cleaning the house, to washing the dishes, to folding the laundry, they probably would have been mistaken for a couple.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead, it's already ten in the morning and you haven't eaten your breakfast yet," Lucy sang.

Her statement was met with a groan and to what she perhaps took as the grumble of Kara's stomach.

The blonde mumbled something unintelligible and the Lane decided to be more insistent.

She dived onto the bed, right on top of Kara, flattening the poor Kryptonian, who shouted in response, "Hey! Get off of me!"

Lucy was flipped over onto the hardwood floor, but the blonde decided to pick her up with one arm over her shoulder and set her outside of the bedroom. However, before she could shut the door, the woman propped her foot through the crevasse.

"What do you want, Lucy?" Kara pouted, stomping her feet.

The brunette ecstatically jumped in the air and grabbed Kara's hand to drag her away from the tempting bed, "We're going grocery shopping!" leading her straight out the entrance.

* * *

"You want to cook brunch?" the blonde inquired, strolling the cart through the aisles.

"Yeah! We haven't had homemade food in a long time, why not?"

"So...what are we cooking?"

Lucy suddenly halted in her steps, rubbing her chin, "Huh...I didn't think I'd get too far with waking you up."

"Is that an 'I don't know'?"

"Since it's your apartment we're cooking in, you can choose, plus, you're the one with the big appetite."

Kara crossed her arms, scoffing, "Hey! Kryptonians need their nutrition! Ten-thousand calories at _least_ , and that's the bare minimum for me."

"You're lucky you're an alien, you don't gain weight on this planet."

"We can make some chocolate pecan pie, the best desert in the galaxy," the blonde squealed with excitement.

"How about that _and_ something more substantial? Like..." Lucy snapped her fingers as if it would give her an idea, "Aha! French toast and omelettes!"

"That sounds wonderful."

"So what are the ingredients on the list?"

"Hmmm. Well, the last time I looked through the refrigerator we had eggs, milk, some meat, butter, and an expired tub of sour cream," the Kryptonian stated matter-of-factly.

"Then we need some sour cream, flour to make dough, pecans, chocolate, and what else?"

"A jar of jam wouldn't hurt," Kara suggested, licking her lips.

Lucy suddenly lost her concentration on the matter, distracted by the blonde's tongue. She felt a rush of heat snaking up her neck and deep into her cheekbones.

"Ahem," Danvers coughed, pretending not to notice the light shade of red settled in the woman's face.

The brunette shook her head and refocused on their main goal: food, "So, where to first?"

It seems Kara was not listening as she nearly shouted out, "Bacon!" She pointed at the slab of meat sitting atop the cooled shelves.

Lucy's face morphed into one of disgust, "Vegan here."

It looked as if she was about to throw up, "Kara, do you know how cruel the processing of meat is? For both the workers and the animals? It's practically slavery."

"But it's slathered in _honey_!" she protested, jabbing in the air towards the meat.

"Kara, I'm not restricting your Kryptonian diet, but I'm not going to be eating it with you."

"You underestimate me, Lucy Lane. Kryptonians have to eat a _lot_ more than humans do," she cried, picking up the product and setting it into the cart, "Mmm...sweet and slavery."

They both widened their eyes, their mouths agape.

" _Savory_! I-I meant _savory_!" Kara shouted awkwardly, pressing her face into her palms in shame.

Lucy couldn't hold her bouts of laughter and chuckled, "I shouldn't be giggling about this."

The blonde noticed the glass of jelly sitting in an aisle next to them and slowly lifted the small jar from its seat to cover her embarrassed face.

"Hey..." Lucy said, patting her friend's hand, "It's okay for everyone to slip up their words once in a while."

The Kryptonian clutched the jelly against the center of her chest, "I've never been all that great with words honestly, I slip up all the time."

"But," Lucy countered, "it's in such an adorkable way that everyone finds it so endearing."

Then she whispered, "Plus, you're an alien, so the expectations might be adjusted a little bit lower for you."

The soldier received a sheepish grin.

"Last thing on our list is...flour." Lucy reached for the large packet of white powder and carefully set it down in the cart.

They made their way to the checkout line, creating a fuss of who would pay.

"I _insist_."

"No, _I_ insist _,_ Kara."

"You're so stubborn, just let me do it!"

"I haven't repaid my debt to you, I owe you for letting me move in!"

The blonde set the jelly against her side and opened her mouth to protest before an unfamiliar, aged voice called out, "What lovely young ladies. What seems to be the problem?"

The pair turned to meet the gaze of an old woman, the wrinkles on her face suggesting she was perhaps eighty years of age. Her experienced eyes were full of patience and kindness.

"We're just deciding who should pay, and _I_ will do it."

The brunette sighed exasperatedly, "No!"

"Excuse me," the lady interjected with a toothless grin, so wide it made her eyes squint closed, "I understand, I think you both can come up with a compromise. Married couples fight all the time, it's perfectly healthy."

The roommates stopped breathing, then Lucy attempted to correct her with awkwardly gesturing hands, "Oh, w-we're not a coup..."

" _Married_?" Kara exclaimed. There was a cracking of glass before an explosion of gelatinous material splattered the surrounding area.

"Oh, dear me!" cried the old woman, reaching up to push her bifocals closer to her eyes so she could survey the area.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" the Kryptonian apologized, bowing down her head.

To further increase the awkwardness of her faux pas, Kara's hands were covered in jelly, and also on her face.

Luckily, Lucy swooped in and slapped down the money, "Keep the change, there's an extra twenty in there for you because of the mess we made." The brunette quickly swiped up the bags and led Kara outside.

"Ugh, I suck at life," Kara cried, wiping the jelly off of her face.

"It's okay, as I said, we sometimes slip up and almost reveal ourselves to be an alien from Krypton," came the somewhat comforting voice.

The blonde's eyes squinted, "But I..."

"Shhh, no 'buts'," Lucy silenced the grieving girl's lips with her finger before leaning in closer towards her ear, "You also still have some jelly left over."

"What?" Kara seemed to wipe every part of her face except for the spot.

"Here," the brunette caressed the super hero's blushing cheeks to keep her steady, then with her thumb, swiped the offending gelatin that remained.

* * *

"The hell are you doing!"

"What?" Kara paused, "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Yes," the shorter woman scoffed, "Always cook with an apron you dummy."

"I don't have time to cook a lot, I mostly just get takeout."

"I've noticed," Lucy stated, carrying out an apron from the closet and reaching around Kara's waist to tie it on.

The brunette scanned her, "It's missing something."

The Lane pulled out a piece of paper and started to fold it in various patterns. Kara observed, noticing the slender outlines of Lucy's fingers, and her nails, they were painted a deep crimson. Her eyes trailed the curves of the shorter woman's body.

The Kryptonian coughed, blinking her focus back to what the paper was being formed into. A chef's hat, which was hastily placed on top of her head.

Lucy laughed, swinging her hips against her partner's, "Can't be a real chef without that, can you?"

Kara scrunched her nose, "Well, I'm done with the eggs, now we just have to wait for the pie to bake."

"About thirty more minutes should do it."

Absentmindedly, the blonde flicked flour onto Lucy's face.

The reaction she received was a deadpanned look before she shoved Kara's chest, resulting in white, powdery hand prints.

"It's on..."

"Kryptonian versus human."

"I don't like to brag, but I think I know who'll win," Kara pointed to herself before tossing the open bag of flour at her opponent.

It exploded into a glorious mess of white, the particles still hanging in the air.

The blonde was laughing her heart out, but the soldier swiped a couple of eggs, smashing them against Kara's body.

They dove for cover on opposite ends of the kitchen, gathering materials from the drawers and cupboards for ammunition.

It was a mess of food as various delicacies zipped through the air. There were screams of joy while they chased each other around. They slipped and skated through the house, bringing a trail of destruction to every object within a few feet. Egg yolks lined the wall, wet batter sloshed over tables, and somehow the lid of a pot made itself comfortable in the ceiling.

Kara was no match for Lucy's trigger finger as she sent a ball of dough flying through the air.

It made an impact on the Kryptonian's chest, and she clutched her heart, pretending to faint, "I've been shot!"

The soldier charged at the alien with full force and jumped onto her back, holding tight as Supergirl attempted to get her opponent to release her.

Eventually, Kara lost balance and both fell onto the snowy floor with a thud, making imprints through the powder.

They laid there, laughing until tears came out, both holding their stomachs from the pleasant food fight.

Until they smelled a burning odor and saw black smoke rising out of the oven.

"The pie!"

They scrambled for the kitchen aperture and opened it to be greeted with a small fire.

Lucy screamed, taking the pie out and looking around frantically, "Where's the flame extinguisher?"

"I don't know!" Kara panicked.

"Do you even have one!"

"I don't know!" she repeated.

"What're we going to do!"

An idea popped into Kara's head, she sucked in a deep breath and blew over the oven. Though it was successful, the oven was frozen with ice because she was so panicked.

The Kryptonian leaned back against the granite kitchen counter and sighed, "Well...that was certainly an adventure."

The brunette poked her shoulder, "Pie?"

She was holding in one hand the almost black dessert and a fork in the other, already cutting out a hard piece to feed her roommate, and then she herself took a bite.

"This is horrible," Lucy said with a mouthful, spitting it out.

Kara crunched a piece of burnt bread with her teeth and forced herself to swallow, "Still the best dessert in the galaxy though."

She placed the flour-covered paper hat on top of Lucy's head, sharing choruses of their laughter together before being interrupted by a call.

Lucy picked up the phone and answered, "Yes?"

Kara listened in with her super hearing.

"This is Director Henshaw, some aliens have escaped their cells, we need you and Supergirl. Now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	3. Absence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to the escaped aliens running amok in and out of the facility, the pair are busier than ever, but it does not stop them from doing everything they can to spend time with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Absence

* * *

A restless Kara had spent the past three weeks in and out of the hospital. Lucy was set to discharge within the next day, and apparently, due to the advanced technology of the D.E.O., her recovery was faster than normal.

But not fast enough for Kara though. She missed having Lucy around to talk with, to watch movies with, to cook with, to shop with. It dawned on her that there would be days, weeks, or even months like these because of the danger posed to the both of them. She felt stupid that she forgot to take Lucy's humanity into account, that she was fragile, and that she could die because of it; that meant no more movies, games, cooking, or anything. Grasping the idea of human mortality was absolutely surreal.

Kara ran her hands through her hair before placing her palms against her face, letting out a muffled scream.

"Hey..." a weak voice said, "It's not your fault."

Though they were told that the tissue would regenerate and was close to fully healing, Lucy still looked like shit because of the medication. Narcotics. It made her look perpetually tired.

"Yeah..." Kara's throat cracked.

After a moment, the patient decided to intertwine her fingers with the blonde's, "You should get some sleep." Lucy chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Take a break. You don't have to visit me _every_ day you know, but I do appreciate the flowers, I'm touched that you remembered my favorite."

Kara smiled slightly and whispered, "Blue poppies..."

Then the heartbroken Kryptonian frowned, and pulled her hand away from the warm skin of Lucy's fingertips.

The brunette wanted to protest, but she silently whined to herself, reluctantly retracting her hand.

Kara sniffled, "I'm going to go now..."

Without waiting for a response, she rose and left.

* * *

"Kara," Alex groaned for the millionth time, "It's _not_ your fault, and you're being ridiculous for thinking that."

The hero was pacing all over her apartment, clearly she had not slept since the incident.

"But it _is_ ," she protested, "If I'd been faster, stronger...how could I've been so...so _careless_?"

Her older sister sighed, then her face softened, "I'm sure Director Lane was very happy that she took the hit instead of you."

A pause.

Alex hesitated, "And honestly...I agree. I'm thankful that you didn't get hurt."

Kara halted her pacing, her voice filled with anger, "How could you say that?"

"What?" the auburn-haired woman raised her volume as well, "Just because she's your friend you expect me to feel the same way? You're my _sister_ , and I barely know her! Save for the fact that her dad is quite literally the most frustrating, uptight, xenophobic old white man ever!"

"That's nothing! It doesn't mean that Lucy feels the same way!"

"Even when she sided with him and arrested J'onn and I after we saved your ass from red Kryptonite and pretty much the whole goddamned city?"

Kara could not help but be a little more offended at the implication if they had not intervened, she would have obliterated National City.

"You're wrong. Lucy's kind, sincere, sweet, thoughtful, considerate... _everything_ an ideal person would be!"

It was Alex's turn to give a puzzled look and she scoffed, "You've only lived with each other for several months and now you're suddenly acting like she's the most important person in the world. I know she redeemed herself, but there's always room for doubt."

Kara narrowed her eyes and sighed, "No. Not with Lucy. She's...she's different, and she's a great friend."

 _Do you think she's more than just a friend to you?_ Alex wanted to ask, but she decided to quell her suspicions and opted for something subtle, "Kara, listen... You might not like what I have to say, and I've worked with the government for so long to know not to trust pretty much anybody, but you always manage to find the good in everyone. I don't trust her, maybe not yet. However, I trust you, and if you trust her, I'm always willing to give her a chance."

The blonde nodded slowly, the mixed feelings of anger at herself and Alex coupled with, perhaps, _love_ for Lucy were causing turmoil in her mind. She could not quite pinpoint the latter of the emotions and decided to ignore it.

* * *

It had been a week since Lucy had been back, and her recovery had been phenomenal. However, Kara was not as cheerful as she used to be.

The brunette was starting to think that the superhero did not feel quite so "super" as, despite living together, she was avoiding Lucy as often as she could. The blonde had not been this brooding since her cousin died at the hands of Lex Luthor, well, mostly Doomsday.

So, Lucy decided to wait patiently for Kara to come home. The brunette usually went to bed at around nine on her days off, which the CatCo employee always seemed to conveniently arrive after the time to avoid confrontation.

The jingling of metal triggered her attention, and she quickly strode to the door and opened it.

Kara was holding her keys in midair, and looked up to see Lucy. She fumbled with the metal objects, placing them within her purse.

"Ahem," the brunette began.

"Lucy," Kara interrupted, gliding past her, "I-I thought you'd be in bed by now...it's pretty late."

"Cut the crap. What the hell is going on with you?"

The blonde sighed and dropped her purse, shrugging, "I-I just..."

"Just what?"

"I don't want to endanger you more than I already have..."

Her small voice broke Lucy's heart, and she pinched her nose, "Kara, you don't need to do that. In fact, I'd rather you didn't. I – we...we're always going to be in the face of danger whether we like it or not."

"I thought you were going to die. I was scared," the blonde's voice was tinier this time.

An expression of anger flashed across Lucy's face, "I thought that _you_ were going to die!"

She immediately regretted it as she saw Kara flinch, almost shrinking away. The shorter woman followed her instinct to comfort the girl, placing her hands on her arms, "I'm sorry."

Lucy let a tear fall and rubbed her hands on the blonde's sagging shoulders, "You know what Kryptonite does to you. _You_ could've died."

Before Kara could reply she was caught in a tight embrace, which she reciprocated, resting her chin on top of the brown-haired woman.

They stood like that, bodies pressed against one another, savoring the moment.

"Come on, Supergirl," Lucy tugged on her wrist and led her out the doorway towards her car.

"Uh, where are we going? It's dark outside."

* * *

"The park?" Kara repeated, carrying several blankets.

"Don't think I don't notice you gazing longingly out of the windows at the stars."

Luckily it was dark so her sheepish blush was not seen, "So...we're spending the night here?"

"Yes. We're going to have a proper conversation with each other, unlike the times you got all broody."

"Hey! I don't _brood_."

"I beg to differ."

Once the pair set the blankets down and laid on them, they stayed silent for a good five minutes, soaking in the light of the stars.

Honestly, Lucy had no idea what to say. Her Kara withdrawal diminished her social skills. However, she felt relieved when her friend was the first to break the silence.

The blonde pointed up at a cluster of tiny, bright lights, tracing a sequence, "That one is Andromeda. And this one, it's Cassiopeia."

"So all of that brooding did teach you something, huh." Lucy scooted closer so that their shoulders were touching.

Kara slapped her, "I've studied constellations since I was little, don't mock me, human!"

The brunette laughed genuinely, she was glad that Kara was coming back to her, "What else don't I know about you?"

She felt a shrug, "What's this, twenty questions?"

"Why not? We can each ask each other something and then, if we want to, we can answer it ourselves after."

"You go first, Lane."

"How many languages do you speak fluently?"

"Nine."

"What?" Lucy gasped, "I'm jealous, I can only speak two..."

"Spanish and English, right?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"Daxamese, English, Dheronese, Vrang, Almerac, Martian, Rinoti, Thanagarian, and Kryptonese."

Lucy frowned, "You're _so_ intelligent, Kara! I mean, I always knew you were, but I had no idea..."

"I've always enjoyed learning, and since my parents were pretty much an integral part of the government, I had some opportunities to expand my horizons. So, _technically_ , I was royalty."

"Wow," the brunette chuckled, "I've never met nobility before, let alone a _princess_."

Kara scrunched her nose at the title, "Don't call me that. I'm pretty much queen now."

The blonde's voice suddenly faltered at the memory of Krypton, her face solemn.

Lucy seemed to notice and diverted her friend's attention back to reality, "Hmmm...when did you last sing?"

"Right now!" Kara voiced, a melody so soothing to the ears, "Okay, my turn. Your house, which has everything you own, catches on fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you can go back and save one item. What would it be?"

"My sweater," Lucy replied nonchalantly.

"That was quick. And isn't that thing a tad bit over-sized for you?" the blonde inquired, looking at the said sweatshirt the brunette was wearing.

"I _love_ over-sized tops."

"I can't argue with that."

"So, would you rather be twice as smart or twice as happy?"

"Twice as happy," the blonde quickly answered.

Lucy was surprised with the lack of hesitation, "Why? You're probably the happiest person I've ever met."

Kara gave a solemn smile, "I get that a lot. Most of the time I am."

Then she remembered Krypton. Her family, her friends, the next door neighbor, the different dialects, the traditions, the culture, the technology...then she remembered being sent to Earth and the struggle to adapt to a new environment and learn new languages, technologies, cultures, traditions, and animals; not to mention the confusing political processes of the human race and their different views on love especially, how such trivial matters could drive even the greatest of people into madness and initiate wars that left the land barren and desolate. She remembered the burden that her happy memories of Krypton held against her, how often at night it used to weigh down and crush her to the point where her chest ached and she could barely breathe. She remembered the many nights of crying herself to sleep on a strange planet as a strange child.

She snapped out of her thoughts, shaking them out of her head and spoke, "What happened the last time you cried?"

Lucy laughed, "I barely remember. That was _ages_ ago."

"Yeah," Kara chuckled, "I don't really see you as a crier. I'm one heck of a crybaby though."

"I can see that," then the brunette pondered, "I think...the last time I cried was when I was in the Army."

The blonde decided not to probe any further; if Lucy had wanted to disclose the reason why, she would have done it.

It was the soldier's turn to reminisce about her days of service, only a few positions short of becoming the next general before her mental breakdown and parting ways with it; so many subordinates she had to lead, dead, some dying under her orders or in her arms. She shuddered at the memory. Sure, she may have saved lives, but she often thought that she took more than she gave, that she was the villain in her story.

"Cold?" Kara asked, piercing the brunette's thoughts, "You're shivering."

"I'm fine. Now," Lucy started, "What's a cheesy song that you have perfectly memorized?"

" _A Thousand Years_ by Christina Perri."

Lucy arched a brow, "That was awfully quick. You a fan of _Twilight_?"

The blonde cringed, "No, I heard it on the radio. I don't know, I just love the idea of love, you know?"

"Don't worry, Kara, I'm a hopeless romantic myself," the brunette chuckled.

"Okay, Luce, what's the first thing you'd do if you were a man for one day?"

"Helicopter."

"Okay, _that_ answer was quick. And ew."

"What?" Lucy protested, "Are you telling me that you're not curious? Like, having an extra appendage there seems pretty weird to me."

"Gross."

"Oh," the soldier teased, "So you prefer the _other_ thing."

Kara tilted her head, "What other – _oh_. N-no, I just..."

"It's okay, next question: what scares you the most?"

_Losing people; Eliza, Alex...you..._

The Kryptonian refrained from speaking her thoughts, "Sharks. I don't like them."

"Why? Don't tell me it's because of _Jaws_."

"Um..."

"Oh my God, you do know that hippos and elephants kill more people, right?"

"I know that statistically, but sharks are just creepy. I mean, as much as I love being Supergirl, you're on your own if a shark comes your way. Just saying."

"How rude!" Lucy gasped, slapping Kara's arm.

"Sorry..." the hero flushed, "So, if you could learn another language. What would it be?"

The brunette whispered to herself, "Kryptonese..."

It was so quiet that Kara barely picked it up, even with her super hearing, but once it registered, her brows furrowed, "W-Why?"

_Because on your bad nights I hear you, that sad voice speaking in that foreign tongue...probably about your home._

Lucy ignored the thought, "It's an _alien_ language? Why not?"

The Kryptonian's laughter threw her head back, "I can just hear that terrible accent already!"

"Okay, stop mocking me. If you could choose your last words, what would they be?"

"El mayarah," Kara nodded slowly, thoughtfully, thinking of the soft embrace of Rao's light and her mother reaching out to her to bring her to the other side.

"What does it mean?"

"Stronger together," the blonde beamed through the darkness, though she was positive that she would die alone, some place abandoned while she was attempting to eliminate an alien threat, "Would you rather live in the woods or the city?"

"Woods. I'm not very fond of people, or at least too many of them."

"Really? I'm the exact opposite! I love meeting new people!"

Lucy fought the urge to frown. Sometimes she could not understand that aspect of Kara, she understood the desire to meet new people, but never her tendency to see the good in everyone and to trust so easily, especially after what she had been through.

"So, Supergirl, if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know?"

"These questions are just getting deeper and deeper," Kara laughed. It took a moment, but she finally came up with an answer and furrowed her eyebrows, "I guess...I guess I'd want to know how I'd die..."

Lucy inhaled and held the oxygen in for a moment before letting it out with an exhale, "Do you...have a hunch about how you'll die?"

The brunette could see the silhouette's head shake side to side, "No. Not really. But it's probably either going to be because I tried to cook or because I was out saving the world."

The Kryptonian's attempt to lighten the mood was successful, both of them chuckling with delight at the memory of their cooking fiasco.

"That was a disaster," Lucy scoffed.

"Your turn, Lane. Same crystal ball question."

The agent contemplated for a minute, "Perhaps, who I'm going to end up with, and whether or not I'd be happy about it..."

Kara's heart ached, "Do you...have someone...in mind?"

Lucy sighed and decided to be honest, "Yeah... Yeah, I do..."

The blonde decided not to pry any further, "Don't worry about that. You'll find someone. You deserve to be happy."

Lucy stopped with the questions, assuming Kara still had a thing for James.

Their backs faced one another, indicating it was time for sleep.

"Goodnight, Kara."

"Night, Lucy."

They could feel it, their hearts clenched and their chests tightened, with bitterness, with jealousy. They let the night wind blow against them, enveloping them in coldness. But little did they know that the one person they were thinking about was each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	4. 4, 5, 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the process of protecting National City and balancing that with their daily lives, they grow closer, but the pair are often interrupted by criminals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# 4, 5, 6

* * *

Drip.

Kara flinched.

_Water?_

Drip.

She opened her eyes and yawned, shaking the woman beside her, "Lucy, I think it's raining, we should get going."

The brunette groaned, reluctantly sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes.

Abruptly, it began pouring, causing the women to yelp, scrambling to gather the blankets and returning to the car.

Lucy attempted to start it.

"Shit!"

"What?"

"Battery's dead."

"Seriously?" Kara groaned, "I have an idea, forget the car, get out, and lock it."

The brunette did as she was told, "I don't really want to walk all the way home in the rain, it's miles from here."

"Not walking."

Before she could ask the blonde to elaborate, there was a gust of wind and suddenly they were high up in the air.

"Ah!" Lucy fidgeted in the Kryptonian's grasp.

"Do you want to fall?" Kara asked rhetorically, her rip tightening.

The soldier's eyes shut in fright, "Put me down! I'd rather walk!"

The blonde decelerated, "Hey...I won't let you fall."

Her voice held such gentility it beckoned the brunette to open her eyes. Kara's bright azure orbs were filled with such kindness and certainty that Lucy relaxed. She could gaze into that sea of blue for eternity, then she pressed her ear against Kara's chest, the both of them listening to their hearts beat as one.

"I trust you, Supergirl."

She received a scintillating smile in return, the grin was so bright it outmatched the sun, and it made Lucy's heart skip a beat.

* * *

They were soaking wet by the time they reached the apartment.

Kara swiftly set Lucy on the ground through her window, but remained floating in the air out in the rain, still within arm's reach.

"Not coming in, Supergirl?"

"Nah, I enjoy the rain."

"What if someone sees you?"

Before the human could bat an eye, she was suddenly carrying Kara's clothes, then looked up to see the alien in her super suit, striking a pose.

The brunette shook her head, "You're ridiculous."

"But in a cute way, right?" she winked.

"Why of course."

Silence ensued.

They just stayed there, appreciating one another's company.

Both of their chests ached, yearning for each other as they stared into one another's eyes. The rain drowning out their desire.

A ring buzzed from the heap of clothes Lucy carried, she sifted through the cloth, putting the phone on speaker, "Alex?"

"Director Lane? Where's Kara?"

"She's right next to me."

"Hey, sis," Kara greeted happily.

"Guys, you have to evacuate now."

"What, why? We just got home."

"Kara, Lucy, I can't give you guys the details right now, there's not much time, so get out of there as fast as you can."

"W-What's going on?"

"Just listen to me! You know those three aliens that escaped? We've managed to locate them, but we failed to capture. However, we're tracking them right now and they're right on top of you!"

* * *

Lucy had been staring at the same monitor for thirty minutes, her position on the waiting chair next to Kara's hospital bed never changing, watching closely as the jagged lines moved up and down and occasionally stuttered. Not to mention the rhythmic beeping coinciding with the visual data.

The wait was maddening. It had been around five days and the doctors have not found the right time to release her from her induced coma for the final surgeries.

The soldier could only stand by as her friend was attached to numerous wires; it was the breathing tube shoved down her throat that bothered Lucy the most though. Of all her years in the Army she had especially learned that the equipment indicated that the patient was unable to maintain breathing on their own; Kara's respiratory system had nearly failed, one of her lungs collapsed.

Lucy had forgotten the rest of the details and was driven to ask yet again what her condition was.

"Dr. Hamilton? Can you please repeat the details of Supergirl's medical report? I'm sorry, I missed it the first time."

"That's no problem at all, Director Lane," the doctor reassured, lifting the clipboard from the desk tray beside her and holding it a few inches from her face, eyes scanning the document, "We'll start from head to toe, and that being said, the majority of her injuries are quite concerning to be frank with you."

Lucy's face fell at the last sentence.

Dr. Hamilton felt sorry for her, but she was not able to sugarcoat things, it was better to prepare the loved ones than to give false hope, "Meningitis; her brain and spinal cords are inflamed, swollen, and would have been potentially life threatening if we hadn't reduced it. A significant portion of her muscles had deteriorated by the time she got here due to the cell degenerative properties of Kryptonite, particularly within her torso, which collapsed her left lung. She also developed symptoms of infection, which we found peculiar since most of the damage was internal, so we concluded that the Kryptonite was infused with some other element that's just as toxic."

The doctor sighed, "It seems the other ingredient increased the sensitivity of her pain receptors. Though she may be unconscious, the creator clearly went out of his or her way to make sure that Supergirl would suffer regardless of whether she was awake or not. We lost her on the operation table three times due to organ failure. She's lucky the gas didn't melt her vitals into mush, and that her brain is still active. She's quite the living miracle at the moment."

Lucy was utterly dejected, and Dr. Hamilton proceeded to crouch to her level, "Director Lane, we're going to do everything in our power to save Supergirl."

The brunette nodded and attempted to give a grin, which ended up morphing into a wry smile.

* * *

Lucy hissed, the burning pain of the ointment melding into her open wound.

"You should've said something," Alex scolded sternly, reaching for a piece of gauze to re-wrap the injured woman's palm, "You let this fester and now it's infected."

The brunette attempted to stretch her fingers, barely, "I'm fine, Agent Danvers. There are more important things to worry about."

"You're very stubborn, you know that? A lot like Kara; you both are sometimes so concerned with different matters, typically other people, that you neglect your own health, so it renders you less effective with your goals."

"That's a nice way of saying that I've outlived my usefulness," Lucy scoffed, then she frowned at the mention of her close friend.

Alex was momentarily speechless, and realized that the topic of her little sister was taboo to them both.

"Hey...it's going to be fine, she's strong and she'll get through this," the older Danvers gave a forced smile, for even she was unsure herself, "It's only been a week since the incident, we can't expect her to just be up and flying around, the attack was..."

"I understand, Alex..." Lucy mumbled.

The older Danvers was slightly shocked when she referred to her by her first name, and she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Lucy...I know we just came back from the sting operation, but Dr. Hamilton notified me that Kara was available for visiting hours in the med bay. They've stopped injecting her with morphine."

The brunette's face became a little more solemn.

"Is something wrong?"

Lucy hesitated, her voice lightly cracking, "I...I can't look at Kara the way she is right now. It just reminds me how I...I wasn't able to help her."

Alex's eyes shifted into a more forlorn shape, "But you _did_ save her. If she'd spent even one more second in the fumes, she'd probably be..."

She trailed off and the sentence was left unfinished.

Lucy took in a shaky breath, "I think I'm going to check up on her then. Thank you, Agent Danvers."

"No problem, Director Lane," Alex assured.

_She really does care about Kara..._

The brunette waved an awkward goodbye and proceeded down the hall into the hospital sector, scanning the room numbers until she found the one she was looking for and cautiously creaked the door open.

Kara laid in the same position on her bed, the same wires and tubes protruding out of her skin with various biological samples set aside on a metal tray. The once strong and righteous Kryptonian was rendered into a fragile body due to the poisonous element. She noticeably lost weight as her eyes and cheeks were more sunken in.

Lucy sat next to the patient and held her hand firmly, feeling the smooth and cold skin against her fingertips. She scrutinized her surroundings for around twenty minutes before deciding to leave. As she was about to let go of her grip, she felt Kara's thumb twitch and brush against the back of her uninjured palm.

The brunette held her breath and finally noticed that the young blonde was stirring from her slumber. Lucy sat down again, closer, and stared more intently at Kara's face; her eyes opened slightly to reveal a hint of sea blue, but then they squinted at the bright lights.

As the Kryptonian's vision stabilized, her pupils settled onto the expectant grip on her hand, which traveled up to meet a pair of deep emerald eyes.

"L-Lu...cy..." Kara managed to get a few syllables out and winced, "You...okay? Y-Your...hand..."

"I'm fine, _you're_ the one everyone is worried sick about," the brunette laughed uneasily, but happy that the young hero was awake.

"It...hurts," she grimaced, clenching the bed sheets in pain.

Lucy suddenly recalled that Alex had said they stopped with the morphine, so it was likely they resorted to weaker narcotics.

Kara's abrupt coughing fit interrupted her thoughts, and it alarmed her so she pressed the button to notify her specialist, "Take it easy, don't move around too much. I just called in your nurse."

The blonde struggled to breathe, but managed to grunt out, "My...chest..."

The Kryptonian refused to scream, she couldn't really shout anyway, but Lucy knew from the doctor's notes and Kara's warped facial expression and increasing trembles that she was in excruciating agony.

The nurse rushed into the room right as the machines indicated that the patient's vitals were skyrocketing, "I'll get Dr. Hamilton!"

Lucy was panicking and began to caress Kara's cheeks in an attempt to calm her down, "Kara? Kara! Listen to me!"

The blonde was unable to though, as the pain diminished her ability to listen to the outside world, which became muffled gibberish. Her breathing was erratic and she continued to give intervals of painful groans. The hyperventilation caused her vision to begin to blur, and her adrenaline hyped up as she attempted to rise from her bed, struggling as Lucy futilely tried to keep her pinned down.

"Get away from me!" In Kara's panic, she shoved the brunette with so much force that the soldier soared through the air and collided with the window, causing it to crack. The throw left her breathless and it took her a few seconds to recompose herself.

The Kryptonian realized what she had done, "I'm so sorry," and she moved to stand to help her friend. However, once she stepped foot onto the polished floor, she collapsed clutching her chest tightly, finally letting out a scream, "Get it out! Make it stop!"

She continued to repeat the mantra as she tore into the middle of her gown to reveal that the arteries around her sternum were glowing a dim green. Upon closer inspection, the supposed Kryptonite continued to near her heart, startling Lucy.

The doctors rushed in and hurriedly placed the crazed patient back onto her bed.

"Restrain her!" Dr. Hamilton ordered, looking over to see that Kara's brainwaves were off the charts, "Her brain activity indicates that she's experiencing hallucinations! Get her sedated! And get Director Lane out of here!"

She was escorted away from the area and into the check-up room.

* * *

Lucy's eyes followed the ray of the flashlight as it moved side-to-side.

"A minor concussion, you should recover from it relatively quickly with D.E.O. technology. Personally, though, I would be more cautious if you're ever dispatched on another mission within the week."

"We've released her from her induced coma about three hours ago," Dr. Hamilton stated, leaning against the door frame, "She should be waking up soon."

"How soon?" Lucy whispered.

"Be patient, Director Lane. Her exposure to the Kryptonite has potential to cause permanent damage, even _I'm_ not sure if the solar energy is going to do much, but it's a start."

The brunette let out a large sigh, clearly distressed.

"I do think though, that she'll make close to a full recovery once we remove the probes."

"Probes?"

"They were engineered and intermingled within the gas. They attracted the Kryptonite like magnets. Very advanced technology, and the probes targeted her heart once she woke up, luckily we were able to cut off the signal so now the leftover gas lingers in her muscles. However, some of the Kryptonite did manage to reach her heart vessels."

A pause.

"Also, the metal of the sphere that contained the alien element...our research team has determined it to be man-made. Created from magnesium, light as aluminum, but as strong as titanium alloys. So far, this material has the highest strength-to-weight ratio known to mankind. Maxwell Lord and Lex Luthor are the most probable suspects."

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose before standing up, "I'll look into it."

* * *

"She's awake!" someone yelled.

The brunette could feel her heart racing as fast as she was running into Kara's assigned room. She stopped at the doorframe, nearly tripping due to her momentum.

They locked eyes, scanned each other for what seemed like forever.

Then, as always, Kara mustered up the strength to greet Lucy with a broad, shiny smile.

The brunette dashed to her side and hugged her fiercely, refusing to let go. The patient's reaction was a bit belated, but she finally wrapped her arms around the warm body, rubbing her back in soothing circles.

Lucy failed to keep in the tears as they started to pour out, "Oh my God, Kara...I was so worried."

The blonde could only afford to give her a weak groan, "I'm okay, you can stop worrying."

Her face morphed into a remorseful look, "I'm...I'm sorry about the fit I had earlier. I hurt you..."

"I'm fine, it was just a minor concussion," the brunette sighed, producing a smirk.

"I gave you a concussion?" the Kryptonian turned away and teared up.

"Kara...look at me," Lucy gently coaxed, "You were in a lot of pain and you were hallucinating. You were just trying to protect yourself."

They let go of each other and simply stared.

Silence.

"Hey..." Kara chuckled, changing the subject, "Those bags under your eyes complement the rest of your makeup really well."

Lucy ignored her and sniffed, wiping her teary face and reaching for her injured friend's fingers, "You're going to be dispatched soon."

"Yeah, I can't wait to go home and stuff my face full of potstickers," she licked her lips dreamily and gave a shimmering smile, "Where's Alex?"

"She's in her lab right now analyzing some data, want me to bring her over?"

Kara nodded as enthusiastically as she could in her condition, but instantly regretted it when a painful headache caused her to shut her eyes in pain, "Ugh..."

Lucy could not help but worry more, even though she knew that her friend would most likely be all right. She was once again reduced to a mess of words, "Do you need me to get the nurse? Or Dr. Hamilton? Do you need more narcotics? They're pretty strong painkillers though, but you're an alien so I don't think it's going to be too much of a problem. I..."

"Lucy."

"Yeah?"

Kara chuckled, "Just go get Alex."

"N-No problem. Sorry, I'm just worried still."

"I'm fine," the alien reassured.

About five minutes later, the older Danvers walked into the room followed by the brunette.

"This better be important. I was in the middle of a breakthrough with the probes."

Kara made a pouty face complemented with her puppy-dog eyes, which Lucy melted at the sight, and opened her arms wide, "Hug?"

Alex rolled her eyes and laughed, embracing her younger sister, "Yeah, I think this is more important."

Lucy grinned at the heartwarming sight and decided to leave them alone, silently walking back into her office.

The agent looked behind her back, then to her sister, "How're you two lovebirds doing?"

Kara's eyes widened and her face turned into an embarrassingly bright red hue, "Wha - 'lovebirds'?"

Alex groaned, "You can't _seriously_ be that dense?"

No, the blonde was actually quite oblivious as she tilted her head slightly to the side and arched her brows in a curious fashion, forming a puzzled look, "Uhhh..."

The auburn-haired woman stuffed her face into the pillow on top of Kara's lap and from it came a muffled scream. Then she turned her head so it faced her little sister, "Oh my God, hopeless. Just hopeless. As much credit as I give Lucy for being one of the most intelligent people I've ever met, I bet she's the same way."

It suddenly dawned on Kara what she was implying, "O-Oh, no, no, no, it's not like that. Absolutely _not_ like that. We're just really good friends."

"Well... even 'really good friends' don't gaze longingly into each other's eyes every other second. You two are absolutely disgusting."

"W-We're not a...a _thing_."

"I beg to differ."

"Besides...even if...if we were, I shouldn't be in a relationship..."

Alex's eyes took on a more serious look, "Why?"

Kara looked uncomfortable, suddenly becoming interested in her white blanket, pinching at a particular spot.

"Hey, Kara?"

"She's...she's just another person that I can lose..."

"C'mon, don't say that."

"But it's true," she said more sternly, "I can't be Supergirl _and_ have a normal relationship simultaneously. It just doesn't work. It'll _never_ work."

"I don't mean to be rude, but you haven't exactly _been_ in a relationship, so how do you know if it'll work or not?"

Kara glared at her, "I just do! Can you blame me? I don't want to think of every new friend I make as 'just another person I can lose', I really don't! But that's always the first thought I have..."

Her voice cracked as she trailed off, she shed a few tears as her older sister tenderly wiped them away, as if it was a fresh wound.

She was right, Alex really could not blame her. She's watched her own home become obliterated right in front of her eyes; her friends, her family, the postman, the neighbors...all eradicated in an excruciating explosion. She lost a culture, a life, every aspect of normalcy gone in the blink of an eye. The worst part was remembering all of it, the nightmares plagued her nearly every day when she arrived on Earth. Clark was lucky, he had no memories of Krypton, so he could not feel anything other than the melancholy of not experiencing Kryptonian culture or meeting his real parents. For Kara, the pain was hundreds of magnitudes higher.

"Don't give me that look," the blonde said, "You know I hate it."

"What look?"

"Pity."

"Sorry," Alex apologized, "I didn't realize..."

"I know, it's okay..."

"For what it's worth," the agent hesitated, "I think you should go for it."

"I thought you didn't like her?" Kara asked.

"Well, now I approve."

"Why the sudden change?"

"Not really _sudden_...I _sort of_ like her," Alex chuckled.

Kara slapped her arm playfully.

"Okay, okay. It was actually kind of during the sting operation I guess."

"Understandable."

"Quite the charmer."

"Why the 'kind of' though?"

"I realized that she really cared about you when she spent every night trying to piece together all of the evidence we collected, nonstop. I don't think I ever saw her come out of the office for bathroom breaks or food, and..."

Alex stopped, unsure if she should continue.

"And?" Kara nudged.

"She was...she was _very_ distraught after the attack, especially when you...crashed," Alex's voice cracked, "Her eyes were red and puffy the first few days of your treatment. So were mine, but it was weird for everyone; Lucy Lane _never_ lost her composure like that. Then her eyes got sunken in and baggy, I don't think she slept peacefully until the doctors were one-hundred percent sure you'd survive."

Kara's eyes became somber as she clutched the blanket of the bed, she whispered to herself, "I'm so sorry, Lucy..."

* * *

"Wow," the brunette scoffed, "You really weren't kidding when you said you wanted to stuff your face full of potstickers."

That had to have been the sixth heaping plate of dumplings already.

While Kara's mouth was full of food, she gave a slight smile and a muffled, "Nope."

Lucy took her hand, "I'm really glad you're back."

The blonde swallowed, "Hey! I need that hand to eat!"

The soldier burst out in laughter.

It has been eight days since the Kryptonian's release, and though she was recovering a little slower than usual, the fact that she was even healing was relieving to the younger Lane.

However, since the attack, Lucy's mind has been constantly nagging at her to check up on Kara, to make sure her movements were steady and not straining her, or to ensure that her heart rate and blood pressure were at normal levels. Truthfully, the worry never stopped for her, Supergirl was always out head-first into the battlefield. Her bravery and courage were very admirable, but Lucy's selfishness told her that she wanted Kara to stop saving the world so that they could enjoy a normal life together as... _friends_.

_Because that's all we'll ever be..._

The brunette's facial features morphed into a more melancholic expression, which did not go unnoticed.

"Lucy?" Kara asked, her voice had a tone of worry and comfort in it, "Is everything all right?"

"Y-Yeah...I was just wondering if...if you'd eventually make a full recovery..."

The blonde gave her a kind, reassuring smile, and tightened her grasp on the shorter woman's hand, "Even if I don't make a full recovery, I'm still alive."

"Kara...you _died_. Not just once, but _three_ times. _I_ lost you three times. _Alex_ lost you three times. I don't think I can go through that again."

The brunette felt another warm hand creep over hers and looked up to see Kara's creased forehead and furrowed eyebrows.

"It's okay, I'll be more careful from now on."

"But what good is that going to do? What if you meet your match?" Lucy countered, "What if..."

"Then I'll die," Supergirl simply stated, "I'll go down fighting."

The brunette retracted her hand and took a deep breath, trying to control the ache that resided within her chest.

"Cheer up, buttercup," Kara said, walking over towards the radio to turn it on, then floating back to the dining table.

The Lane's elbows rested on her knees, head hanging down.

"Hey..." a perky, dramatic voice said, tilting the soldier's face up, "Dance with me, Lucy Lane."

A hand was held out, an invitation for her to join.

" _You_ know how to dance?"

She laughed, "Nah, I've got two left feet. I was thinking you could just tease my dancing skills."

"Well, luckily for you, _I_ know how to dance."

"Then show me some of your moves," Kara quirked her brow, then wiggled the both of them.

"I would love to," the brunette winked, taking her hand and placing the other on her shoulder, "Hand on my hip, Supergirl."

The Kryptonian gulped, she swore her heart was beating out of her chest at their intertwining fingers.

Then they spun, the skilled dancer taking the lead, "One and two and three and don't step there, Kara."

"S-Sorry," she stammered, stumbling about.

"No, your foot goes here, then there. Left, right, left, right, okay stop. You really do suck at dancing..." Lucy snickered, "Ow, that's my foot."

The brunette continued to gracefully twirl, her finesse and flexibility impressing her partner.

"And...dip."

The blonde was caught off guard and her friend fell flat onto the ground, she gasped, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"I trusted you!" she lamented.

"I'm just not cut out for this," the Kryptonian chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	5. Reconnaissance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thinking they have a lead, Alex and Lucy are dispatched in an infiltration unit together, targeting one of LexCorp's facilities. While they strengthen their bond, Kara is assigned out of the field and therefore out of harm's way, thanks to Director Lane. However, the question is whether or not the mission will succeed.
> 
> **TRIGGER WARNING: TEENY BIT OF VIOLENCE AND THERE'S ALSO ANGST.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Reconnaissance

* * *

"Espionage?" Kara repeated.

"Exactly," J'onn nodded, "Alex. Director Lane. You two are leading an infiltration unit into one of LexCorp's facilities; that's where he's continuing the manufacture of Kryptonite weapons and other tools of destruction according to the meeting they adjourned. Your jobs are to extract as much relevant information as possible."

"What about me?" the blonde inquired.

"The squadron is waiting approximately five miles south outside of the building. And Supergirl, at the request of Director Lane and Dr. Hamilton, you won't be participating with the covert ops unit."

"What!" Kara nearly shouted, glaring at Lucy.

"We can't afford to lose an asset like you, Supergirl," the brunette replied calmly, "You're also still recovering."

"I'm perfectly fine!" Kara protested, but then proved herself wrong when she flinched from her chest pain.

"She's right," Alex chimed in, "I think our team will suffice. After all, it's only a reconnaissance mission, and this facility's security is not as tight as the others."

The blonde growled, giving up, she knew when she was defeated.

"However, Supergirl," J'onn elaborated, "You'll be floating outside of the fortress at all times to ensure there won't be anything or anyone possibly compromising this mission. Understood?"

She crossed her arms and exhaled through her nostrils, "Alright. Fine."

"You're all dismissed."

* * *

"Come on, people. Let's move, move, move those asses," Alex ordered, strapping her silenced assault rifle to her back and turning on her night vision, "Tsung, get the entrance."

The agent nodded, attaching a device on the lock and deactivating it.

"Director Lane," Alex called, gesturing towards her and the door, "Get on my six. Everyone else, get into two groups of three. The first team to go in will cover the first floor. Second team can scour the next. My partner and I will take the third. Murdock, you'll remain near the entrance to toggle their security systems. Move out and locate as much evidence as you can."

Agent Danvers entered, followed by Lucy, guns at the ready, heading up the stairs. It was a large facility, entirely built out of steel and concrete, and luckily for the pair, the doors were relatively easy to unlock.

After five minutes of quiet sifting through crates, they found nothing of value and moved on.

"Danvers, what do you think we're going to find here?"

"I don't know, and honestly, I hope we don't find anything."

Alex saw Lucy nod in agreement from the corner of her eye, "So...you and Kara, eh?"

The soldier nearly stumbled over, "W-What?"

"You heard me, Director," Alex smirked.

"N-Nothing is going on between us, okay?"

"But it looks like you want more."

"Agent Danvers, this is really not the time," Lucy sighed with annoyance.

"So you really _like_ her," the agent continued to tease.

"It's...it's not like that...I just...I love her and all, but..." the soldier attempted to explain.

" _Oh_ ," Alex cut her off, barely containing her laughter, "You fell in _love_ with Supergirl."

Lucy's eye twitched, "Agent Danvers, if you don't shut up right now..."

"It's cool, I'm okay with it, you guys have my blessing," she snickered.

"We're just _friends_. I'm not jeopardizing the bond we've made already. I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Well... _I_ think you should go ahead and ruin it."

"How could you say that?"

"Because it could end up going well for the both of you. Are you sure you don't want to live a life with the cutest alien in the universe, and on top of that...raise a litter of puppies and kittens, or kids, but they're not fluffy so..."

Lucy sighed in defeat, hesitating, "Honestly...that sounds really tempting."

"Then what's stopping you?"

A pause.

"Kara is."

Alex was speechless, "What? Why?"

"I've tried many times to give her hints, she's so clueless sometimes."

"Ahhh...that's her charm though, and she's always oblivious when it comes to _love_ ," Agent Danvers said.

"Just concentrate on the mission, Danvers. You talk too much."

"You can tolerate Kara's incessant chatter, but not mine?"

"I've never been a fan of chit-chat."

"You always seem to find some time to listen to my little sister's small talk though."

"I really don't like you right now."

Alex hesitated before finally informing her, "You know...when I had my suspicions between you guys...I actually didn't like you."

"Really?" Lucy said, her interest piqued, "Well, you're her older sister, so that's understandable."

"Really," she confirmed, "It wasn't just because I'm her family. It was cause your father spent his life trying to torture and imprison people like her, and the last time I checked, you were working alongside him."

"So? That never meant I felt the same way. He doesn't speak for me," the brunette defended.

"But you didn't disagree. You never stood up to him," Alex stated, "I still get a bit worried for my sister from time to time when I think about that."

"He's my dad _and_ my boss. Trust me, I'd never do anything to hurt Kara."

"There's a part of me that believes that, but I'm not totally reassured. Am I supposed to just take your word for it?"

"Of course not. But at least give me the chance to prove it though."

Alex nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

Lucy sifted through a pile of papers, "DNA splicing?"

"What?"

"Lex Luthor is conducting alien and human experiments..."

"Take the files, we could use them," Alex said, and approached a sealed door.

"Agent, what're you doing?"

"This is a biometric scanner. The only one we've encountered so far. That's a bit odd considering all of the other doors have number pads."

"Damn..."

"Aha, but I came prepared with Lex's fingerprints," Agent Danvers said proudly, attaching a small, flat device onto the scanner.

"Where'd you get..."

"Ummm...after Superman's fight with Doomsday in Metropolis, the D.E.O. kind of investigated and...well, there."

The steel door made a ringing sound and slid open.

"Voila. After you, Director."

Lucy entered the premises with extreme caution before gasping, "What the hell is Luthor doing?"

Alex's mouth was wide open.

It was a dimly lit lab with a vast number of tools, and cells filled with hanging dead bodies; some of them were mutilated, faces torn clean off the bone, limbs missing and twisted every which way, boils and other unknown matter protruding out of some of the corpses. The pair could not decide which was worse, the sight or the smell. The horrid odor was intoxicating, making Lucy puke.

"You really need to get out in the field more, Director."

"Shut. Up," she coughed after finishing hacking her insides out.

"Desk jobs are lovely."

"Let's get out of here."

Alex touched her earpiece and proceeded to swipe any remaining documents from the lab, "Alpha team, beta team, this is knife leader, we're heading out and back to base in about fifteen minutes, do you copy?"

"Roger that."

"Affirmative."

Lucy was out the door already.

"Team leader! This is beta! We've got a situation! There's a bomb! Everyone, get down!"

Before the pair could react, the floor crumbled right beneath them.

Alex felt a sharp pain in her arm and screamed; it was dislocated at an unnatural angle, "Director?"

"I'm here, agent," Lucy reassured, stumbling her way towards the agent while holding her profusely bleeding head, "Your arm...I need to set it."

"Hell no, not without anesthesia, I can wait for the medics."

Without warning, she snapped the joint back into place, eliciting another scream from Alex.

"What the fuck, Lucy!"

"Get up, Danvers, we're leaving," the brunette ordered, "Alpha team, beta team, abort the mission, do you guys copy?"

No reply.

"I said do you copy?"

Nothing.

"Goddammit!" she hissed, holding out her hand to Alex, "Come on! Supergirl, where are you?"

They sprinted through the maze of rocks.

"I've been outside the building the entire time. Is something wrong?"

"Abort the mission! Agent Danvers and I are the only survivors!"

"Don't worry! I'm coming!"

"No! We can make it out alive, just get to safety!" Alex replied, cradling her arm and leading the way back through the rubble.

She didn't notice the rumbling sound that preceded the falling ceiling.

Lucy, despite her head injury, charged full speed at the unaware woman. She could feel her muscles tearing and her heart pounding in her ears.

"Move!" she shouted, shoving the agent out of harm's way.

Alex regained her composure and noticed her superior glance above, and as she was about to dive out of the way, the slab of rock crushed her.

* * *

"Hey! Don't die on us, Lane! We need you!" Alex shouted.

Supergirl took flight and headed straight for the D.E.O., cradling the fragile body against her chest, "You're okay, you're okay, you're okay..." She continued to repeat the mantra, it almost lulled Lucy to sleep. Truthfully, she did not mind dying in Kara's arms, the last thing she would see were those toned biceps and beautiful face. She could even hear her strong heartbeat.

However, Lucy's was gradually slowing, Kara had noticed, tears streaming down her face.

With her good arm, the brunette reached up to caress Supergirl's cheek, "Don't cry..."

Kara attempted to give a reassuring smile, but failed miserably, "Come on, we're almost there, keep talking to me, you have to stay awake."

Lucy hummed, "What do you call a pile of kittens?"

"What?"

"A... _meow_ ntain."

"You're an idiot," Kara sniffled, on the verge of breaking down and sobbing.

"I know..." the soldier placed her good hand atop the center of Supergirl's chest, feeling her heart thump.

Supergirl slowly descended upon the fortress, "We're here. Let's get you fixed up."

"I don't think I'm going to make it out of this, Kara..."

"Don't talk like that..." the blonde mumbled.

Then she screamed, "Hey! We need medical attention! Director Lane is wounded!"

Agents swarmed the pair and took Lucy off of Kara's hands, loading her onto a gurney.

"Blood plasma is extremely low, going into hypovolemic shock," Dr. Hamilton announced, "Get me an oxygen mask, her levels are dropping!"

The electrocardiograph sped up its beeping at a dramatic rate.

The doctors were alarmed, "Tachycardia is setting in, hurry and get her out of the med bay and into the E.R.!"

But before they could do anything the machine let out a monotonous moan.

"Lucy!" Kara cried, attempting to reach her.

"Supergirl, get back!" The doctors and security were unable to hold her down, "Sedate her! Now!"

The blonde felt a pinch in the side of her neck and immediately lost consciousness, collapsing onto the ground, the guards dragging her limp body away from the surgeons.

"Clear!" Dr. Hamilton shouted, the defibrillators sent a shock through the dead woman's body.

Nothing.

"Clear!" the doctors repeated the actions, no movement. Then...

 _Beep_.

They all breathed a sigh of relief, "Get her stabilized and ready for the I.C.U. A.S.A.P.! Move it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	6. Convalescence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Kara personally aids in Lucy's recovery, they counterintuitively grow apart. Though they help support one another, the younger Lane notices the deteriorating health of her close friend, and her attempts at restoring their bond's strength is resisted.
> 
> **WARNING: Some moderate sexy times.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Convalescence

* * *

"J'onn, what's her status?" Alex inquired.

"Director Lane is currently undergoing surgery," he replied.

"But it's been seven hours."

"And it could take another two," he said matter-of-factly, "Her left arm was completely crushed, she was impaled in her left thigh and right side of her stomach, and she fractured four vertebrae along with a concussion."

Agent Danvers sighed, glancing over at her sister's stirring form, "Kara isn't going to like this... And what the hell did the guards inject her with?"

"They needed to ensure that she wouldn't interfere with the operation since she was very..." J'onn paused, "... _insistent_ on seeing Director Lane."

The edge of Supergirl's vision was returning as she struggled to listen to their conversation.

Lucy was alive, and that's all that mattered to her.

She bolted upright from her prone position, steadying her swaying body. She placed her palms against her temples, trying in vain to reduce the sharp pains that tormented her skull. Once the aching dulled she shook her head and groaned, "I need to see her. Please."

"Supergirl..." J'onn warned.

Alex motioned for him to stop, "Kara, she's being operated on, just give it a few more hours and she'll be fine, or at least better than she was before.

Her brain wanted to argue against it, but her heart was heavy and she just gave up, "Fine... I'm going home. Tell me when she's awake."

Frankly, Alex and J'onn were surprised at how fast she relented as she sulked away.

* * *

What was going through Kara's mind was inexplicable, physically she was still tense, but a sense of overwhelming calmness engulfed her, and it frightened her. She rarely slept or ate anymore, picking at her leftover potstickers and chocolate pecan pie; it reduced her skin into a very gaunt appearance.

She could never forget Lucy's terrified face before she mumbled, "Kara...I don't want to die..."

Due to Alex's efforts, the injured woman would be discharged within a week and the blonde would be taking full responsibility of nursing her back to health.

Kara was thankful, and grateful that her roommate made it out alive so that she did not have to surrender the white flag. However, she could not release the melancholic feeling that this incident would change them both, for better or for worse, but she had a hunch for the latter.

James and Winn were especially worried for the young superhero as she often arrived to CatCo with a depressing face, and her aura was not as bright. Even Cat Grant herself figured that something was peculiar about this change in the once sunny assistant of hers.

Every night she would berate herself for not being fast enough, she repeated choruses of "I should've been there" before she could fall asleep soundly, alone once again.

* * *

Once Lucy was discharged, she immediately rolled back to Kara in a wheelchair. The blonde mustered up a smile before gripping the handlebars to take her back home.

Their first night together after the release was...different. The ambience was gloomier and the rooms darker as Kara adjusted them so they would not interfere with Lucy's concussion. The blonde often had to carry the crippled soldier everywhere.

Lucy was simply ecstatic, and refused to let her physical afflictions influence her attitude, but she could not help but notice Kara's sorrowful look. She felt disappointed in herself that she made the woman she cared so much about worry incessantly. She felt as if she was burdening the superhero when she could do better things instead of carrying her around the house, like saving the world.

But Kara was patient and kind, always gentle with her touch and careful with her words, constantly asking if this or that was okay, relentlessly making sure if she was comfortable; her smile though, not once had Lucy seen the lovely creases widen to reach her eyes, they seemed to be forced and almost empty, only tilting up on rare occasions. What worried the brunette the most was that Kara never stuffed her face with hordes of delicacies anymore.

Each passing night together, Lucy would contemplate, her pensive state scolded her for not discussing this negative atmosphere to her caretaker. She also wanted badly to tell the hero how she truly felt, but she remained speechless; every time she gathered the courage to finally confess, it was Kara's demeanor that left her hanging by a thread - the blonde retained her beauty, but it was unbearable to look at her desolate facial features. She was beautiful, but in such a melancholic and bitter way that it left a heavy weight in Lucy's chest. That weight only served to augment itself and manifest into her consciousness; it grew exponentially and soon the brunette's talkativeness disappeared.

They rarely conversed anymore, just settling to exist beside one another.

It was time for physical therapy. This routine agonized the both of them. The brunette barely made any progress walking from their bedroom to the living room, which was only about a little over ten feet away. It usually ended in sweat and tears for the young soldier.

Kara propped the injured agent up and to the edge of her bed, slowly ascending and acting as a human crutch.

"Careful. One step at a time," the blonde mumbled, gently coaxing her forward.

Each step was more painful than the last, her trembles never subsided.

This time they made it to the kitchen, a far cry from the previous attempts, and the shorter woman stabilized herself against Supergirl, panting heavily, her body in excruciating pain, "I don't think...that I can make it."

Kara nodded in understanding. Lucy silently appreciated her sympathy.

As they were about to make their way back, the Lane's knees buckled. Supergirl reacted speedily and caught her by the waist. The brunette tightly grasped onto her broad shoulders and gazed up at her.

Their eyes met.

Kara's brows were furrowed with worry, as per usual. Lucy swore that the color of her irises were darker, more solemn and gray; she automatically leaned up towards the taller woman.

However, before the brunette could move closer, the target swayed away.

Lucy could feel heat crawling up her face, realizing that in her absentmindedness, she nearly kissed her friend.

Luckily for her, Kara had not noticed. Instead she swept the wounded agent off of her feet, carefully placing her in a seating position on the bed; she placed a comforting hand on her friend's uninjured thigh, a look of concern written on her face, "Do you need me to do anything else for you?"

Her voice was like sour honey, a melody yet a pain to Lucy's ears, and she heard a crack in her voice, but decided to ignore it, "I need more pain medication."

Kara glanced at the clock, "It's eleven at night, I'll go get them tomorrow morning, don't worry. Want me to get you some lighter pain medication, like ibuprofen? There's a twenty-four-hour store nearby, I can grab some O.T.C. meds."

The brunette put her hands against her forehead and sighed, "No, it's all right, I can toughen it out for a few hours."

A moment of silence.

"Can I check on your injury?" Kara asked.

Lucy bit her lip and reluctantly nodded, scrunching up the hem of her shirt to reveal a blood-soaked patch placed on top of her left side. It was the only wound remaining that was still trying to seal itself, and the stitches seemed to be intact.

Kara removed the tainted gauze gently, reaching into the first aid kit to retrieve a fresh roll and a small vial of antiseptic, "We're lucky no parts of your open skin caught an infection."

The brunette held her breath, preparing for the sting of the remedy. She grimaced when the blonde began to apply the liquid onto the patch and secured it onto her abdomen.

"Is that okay, Luce?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Okay...just tell me if you need something. I'll be just outside the door waiting for you to get ready for bed."

As the Kryptonian was about to close the block of wood, the brunette hesitated, "Hey...Kara?"

The blonde creaked the door open, "Yeah?"

Lucy shifted in the bed, a little bit of red coloring her cheeks, "Ummm...can you...help me get dressed? I can't...it hurts..."

Kara coughed awkwardly, clearly flustered. Usually she was not needed for that as they maintained a steady supply of narcotics, so Lucy was able to get herself dressed without help, but this just _had_ to be the _one_ time they were too busy to notice that the supply had dwindled.

"S-Sure," the blonde stuttered, clumsily backing away, stumbling over her feet, bumping into the corner of the nightstand, and hitting the frame of the door, "I'll just...g-get you some clothes."

The soldier let out a breath of laughter. It was really nice to see the adorable, awkward side of her again, if only even for a moment.

Soon the flushed girl returned to the room with a pair of navy blue sweats and a black tank top, setting them down next to her roommate, who was already struggling to remove the buttons on her pants.

Kara just stood there, dumbfounded, she had no idea what to do.

"Ummm, Supergirl? A little help here?"

The hero jumped, startled out of her reverie, "O-Oh, of course. Ahem..." She crouched in front of Lucy and shakily reached towards the waistband of her jeans.

They refused to meet each other's eyes for obvious reasons.

She slowly slid down her apparel, careful not to hurt her. However, she did nick her thigh injury and the brunette let out a sound that was a cross between a growl and a hiss.

"S-Sorry," Kara apologized, sliding the pants the rest of the way down, peering at her otherwise smooth legs. She riveted for around three seconds before desperately searching for something else to ogle, "C-Can you lift your arms up?"

"I can try..."

The blonde stuck her tongue against her cheek, it was a very distressful situation for the both of them, "This might hurt a little."

By the time they passed the five-minute mark on trying to take off the shirt they were chuckling away.

Now, Lucy was clad only in her lacy black lingerie. "Sexy" fell short as a description, and though the scars were stitched, there remained an unpleasantness in looking at them.

Kara gulped, rubbing the back of her neck, unable to take her blue orbs off of the stunning woman's figure, "Uh, d-do you need me to leave so you can, you know, get dressed? Oh, but you're probably going to need me to clothe you too, I'm so stupid. I mean, unless you'd rather just do it because I don't mind, I understand, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything..."

The blonde continued to ramble incessantly, droning on, but it served only as background noise for Lucy, who suddenly found a brazen, burning desire within her heart.

"Kara," she said in a sweet, silky voice.

"Y-Yeah?" her voice drifted off.

The brunette quickly leaned in and connected their lips.

The Kryptonian's eyes widened, but then she melted into it. Her lips tasted like a floral vanilla, and her gentleness became slightly rougher, more intense, deepening the kiss.

They reluctantly stopped to stare; blue met green, both filled with lust.

Lucy reached for the nape of Kara's neck and pulled her down onto the mattress, linking their mouths once again. The blonde's graceful fingers cupped the younger Lane's cheek and slowly trailed up her uninjured thigh, then against the skin of her waist, making her shiver to the touch. She grasped her thigh and hoisted her up onto the pillows, their heavy breathing and quiet moans breaking in between the kisses. Kara was so gentle, as if her Kryptonian strength would break the fragile human before her. When she moved to do anything else she always needed approval from the brunette under her, who in turn nodded insistently and impatiently.

Lucy's boldness overcame her, and she proceeded to take off the blonde's glasses and unbuttoned her shirt all the way down; she ran her fingers through the skin of the toned abs through the cloth. The throbbing made her impatient, and she was sure Kara yearned for her as well, so next were her jeans as she reached the bottoms to unclip the mechanism and bring the zipper down.

The blonde's breath hitched, pleasant sensations filling and firing up every single nerve inside of her, and she moved to adore Lucy's neck, her wet mouth sucking gently. She wanted to feel every curvature, every bump, every hill, every depression that adorned her body, as well as the features that decorated her face.

The brunette ran her fingers through the long, yellow locks of hair, and sighed into her mouth, arching her back to raise her bucking hips against her partner's. She nibbled her lips and begged, "Please, don't stop."

Kara did not plan to, but it did not keep her nervousness from building up, "I've...I've never...it's my first..."

Lucy already understood and nodded her head slowly, mumbling, "Me too..."

The blonde smiled in the middle of the kiss, whispering, "God, you're so beautiful, Lucy..."

However, she was not exactly expecting a reply that sounded alike to a whimper of pain. Kara immediately halted her movements, "We should stop, you're hurting."

Lucy refused and pressed her forehead against the blonde's, trying to lean in for another kiss.

The Kryptonian was off the bed in less than a second, this time she heard a protesting whine, but ignored her, "We have to stop. You're in no shape to even be walking, let alone...whatever _this_ is that we're doing."

The hurt expression on the brunette's face was almost unbearable, but Kara decided to stand by what she said, folding her arms and looking away, "I...I'm not your _plaything_ to toy with because of your break-up with James," her voice was heartbroken and bitter, she was on the verge of breaking down, "I'm not someone you can just screw around with and...and ultimately throw away as if I were nothing to you. Don't use me, don't mess with my feelings like this; showing up with your...your stupid gorgeous face and your beautiful personality, and your damn eyes. I can't stand it anymore!"

At this point, Kara's hands were pressed against her head, the tears overflowing her face.

Her mind was lost and confused, causing her to collapse with her back resting against the wall. By now she was crying uncontrollably.

Lucy had a newfound strength in her, and slowly, but surely, struggled her way over to the agonized woman, who was unable to hear her footsteps over her own sobs.

The brunette gritted her teeth through the pain and knelt down in front of the young hero, tilting her chin up, then cupping her face, caressing her cheekbones with her thumbs, "I'm not taking advantage of you, or manipulating you. Have you ever considered the fact that I feel the exact same way?"

A painful silence ensued.

"Y-You...what?" she sniffed.

"I _love_ you, Kara Danvers," her voice cracked, and she pressed her forehead against the blonde's.

This time, it was the Kryptonian that initiated the kiss. They merged their lips, their faces stained with tears, tasting the sweet saltiness that was their confessions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	7. Leisure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The couple finally catches a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Leisure

* * *

Kara was the first to wake up, as she had paperwork to finish for her job at CatCo, and Cat Grant was a _very_ demanding woman. She took refuge in the dining room, contemplating a report to write up, chewing the tip of her pen.

She was in a very good mood because of yesterday, she could not stop thinking about Lucy's soft and sultry lips that were complemented with her sharp forest green eyes.

The blonde shook her head and growled in frustration, she was unable to concentrate on her work because of that beautiful woman.

Lucy too, was very preoccupied with thoughts about the superhero, and somewhat disappointed that they had not continued that... _event_ that took place last night. Their love confessions had given her a better base of strength, physically and mentally, her perseverance was resilient.

The brunette released a deep, contented sigh and made to stand up, grimacing slightly at the pain. She slowly strode her way over to the frame of the door and leaned onto it for support, "Morning, Kara."

"Nice to see that you've made it to the door without my help."

The soldier took her time walking until eventually she was behind the Kryptonian, she traced her fingers over her shoulders before pulling the chair away from the table. She swung her leg around despite the pain and straddled Kara's lap, face to face.

"Wha – I, uh, what're you doing?" Kara was clearly flushed, and felt even hotter when Lucy shifted herself into a more comfortable position.

It really turned her on.

_Please, just give me a break, Ms. Grant is going to kill me if I don't finish this._

Apparently, the world had other plans for her.

Lucy leaned in dangerously close to Kara's ear and whispered, "Take a break. Let's have some fun. We can finish what we started yesterday."

The brunette dangled her elbows over the flustered blonde's shoulders and bit her ear.

"H-hah, y-you...are a _very_...distracting woman, Lucy Lane..." Kara chuckled nervously, feeling the heat of the woman's breath, and the circling of her hips did not make things any better.

The Kryptonian fluidly grasped her waist and pulled their bodies closer together, their lips finally met for a hot, wet kiss. Then she hoisted her on top of the table, her hand under the hem of her shirt, placing love bites against her neck.

Lucy was not a very patient person and roughly took Kara's roaming hand to hook it against the waistband of her boy-shorts.

As she was about to pull the article of clothing off, the doorbell rang.

The brunette groaned, "Seriously?"

Kara sighed and smiled kindly, heading towards the door, "I'll be right back."

There was the click of the lock and then the aperture swung open, "Alex?"

The agent noticed the unruly blonde hair, "Oh, did I catch you at a bad time?"

"O-Oh, w-why're you aski..."

"Don't worry about it!" Lucy chimed in, carefully skipping over to the sisters, "We weren't busy. What'd you need?"

"Actually...I just needed to talk to my little sis, Director Lane."

"Alright," she smiled lightly, "I'll leave you two to it then."

Before the brunette left she gave Kara a peck on the cheek.

Alex stood there, open-mouthed, "What was that?"

"Oh," the blonde grinned sheepishly, "We're kind of together now."

"What? Since when?"

"Last night."

"It took you, like, a _year_ to get together?" Alex pinched her temples, "I knew I should've interfered."

Kara huffed, waiting for Alex to continue.

"Ahhh...so I _did_ interrupt something, didn't I?" Agent Danvers gave a sly wink, "Don't tell me I ruined the moment in the middle of your first time."

The blonde's face was the brightest pink that the young agent had ever seen, making her explode into laughter, "I _did_ , didn't I? Are you guys going to take yet _another_ year for foreplay?"

She thought Kara's face could not get any redder. She was wrong.

"I don't appreciate your teasing, Alex..." the blonde pouted.

"So have you given each other pet names yet? Like 'honey' or 'sweetie', or she could probably call you 'significant annoyance'?" she snickered.

The Kryptonian's eyes squinted, "You're really grating on my nerves now. What're you here for anyway?"

Alex stuck her tongue out in disgust, "Do I need to sit you two down and give you...'the talk'?"

The blonde fumed, her face put her vivid cape to shame, "I-I wasn't even..."

"Just get back at it, tiger," she winked before leaving, "Unless I ruined the moment."

The Kryptonian groaned before shutting the door with a loud thud, considering whether or not to throw her older sister into space.

Then she heard a shout from outside, "Use protection!"

* * *

Under the care of Kara, Lucy slowly regained the ability to walk, then eventually jog, and finally sprint within a short amount of time. The brunette often went for runs outside of their apartment for her recovery while Supergirl continued to work at CatCo and alongside the D.E.O.

The blonde often came home from stressful days due to the missing reports of several agents, seven thus far, and all were integral members of the organization; they were mysteriously picked off one by one. There was no pattern to the kidnappings, it was all seemingly randomized and left absolutely no clues; no fingerprints, strands of hair, tissue, blood...nothing. It was all puzzling to the detectives and investigators as they were all picking at crumbs that led to nowhere, but they did determine that the agents were most likely imprisoned, possibly to extract information about the D.E.O. Members were scrambling to uncover the mastermind behind the chaos as tensions continued to grow.

Fortunately for Lucy, Kara never came home with horrific wounds, keeping her promise that she would be more careful.

One day, the brunette returned to the apartment at around two in the morning in a drunken stupor.

"Lucy! Where the hell were you? I was worried si-"

The Kryptonian was interrupted with a kiss that tasted unpleasant. She was never a fan of alcohol, and pushed the drunk away, who tipped over into a pair of strong arms.

"Hi, honey..." Lucy cried, "I missed you..."

Kara dragged her into the apartment and attempted to wrestle her into bed. The movement caused Lucy to throw up her breakfast, lunch, and dinner all over the blonde's t-shirt and the hardwood floor.

"Ugh! Gross!" She ignored the putrid odor and finally accomplished her task, the limp body rested comfortably on the cushions, her leg and arm dangling from the edge of the mattress.

As she was about to hop into the bathroom and clean herself up, she felt fingers fumble to grab her wrist and a little voice burp, "Don't leave me. Please stay."

"Lucy, I'll just be in and out of the bathroom quickly, I won't leave you for long," Kara chuckled.

The brunette growled, "Stay."

The girl of steel decided not to complain and took off her shirt to throw it into the laundry basket.

"I like this view better," the soldier eyeballed the Kryptonian's black sports bra and clumsily dragged her into bed.

"Comfortable?"

Lucy cuddled against Kara, intertwining their legs, "I'm _very_ comfortable. You're soft and squishy. I got lonely while you were working."

"Well, I'm here now," the blonde grinned, resting her chin above her head.

After a moment of silence, Lucy whispered, "Kara?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a question that I've been thinking about for a long time. Or since a few hours ago."

"So..."

The brunette interrupted her, "Do you think penguins like juggling?"

The Kryptonian let out bouts of laughter, "What? I thought this was going to be a serious question."

She pouted, "It _is_ serious!"

"Well, I don't think their flippers would be able to..."

"No, no, no. I meant do they like to _watch_ juggling?"

"W-Why would you even consider that?"

"Because I kind of want to send a team to Antarctica and juggle for them. I think they'd be really happy."

Kara rolled her eyes, "You're being silly. You're drunk. Go to sleep."

"I'm not drunk."

The blonde's eyebrow arched.

"Okay, maybe a little bit," the brunette adjusted herself, and her leg moved up against her partner's crotch.

Kara let out a muffled gasp, "Lucy..."

She gave a devilish grin, rubbing her body against the Kryptonian, "Yes?"

The girl of steel shut her eyes tightly.

"You're soaking," she reached into the woman's panties, "Am I making you wet?"

Kara let out a moan and bit her lip, "Oh, God."

Lucy flipped her over and straddled her, rocking her hips back and forth, gradually increasing the speed. They could feel each other's dampness.

The blonde propped her elbows up to deepen the kiss, but felt a pair of slender hands push her back down onto the mattress.

* * *

Alex decided to go purchase a bouquet of flowers and a card, which she wrote, "congrats on the sex" on. She loved her sister dearly, and loved teasing her even more. But she was in for a wild surprise when she unlocked the door and noticed that it was strangely quiet.

_It's, like, three in the afternoon. Where are they?_

"Kara?" she called out, scanning her bedroom.

What she received as a response was Lucy rising up from the floor on the other side of the bed, the blanket covering her torso slipping down.

"Oh my God!" Alex covered her eyes and Lucy let out a little scream, which startled Kara awake. The agent's little sister was covered with some red marks that matched the ones on Lucy's, and both had the lipstick covered in several areas of their faces.

"Gross! I'm out!" the older Danvers cried, throwing the card at the couple, "Flowers are on the counter!"

As much as Alex enjoyed teasing them, she absolutely did _not_ want to witness any of it, and she stumbled awkwardly out of the apartment complex.

"Oh!" a voice called, "Alex!"

She turned to see an old man saunter just out of the door with his wife, "Oh! Mr. Carlsen!"

"Were you having a sleep over party with your sister and her new friend?" he asked, utterly oblivious, "It was quite loud yesterday."

The elderly lady elbowed him in the ribs and glared, not obliviously.

Alex shuddered, "Yeah...right..."

"Well, I'm glad you kiddos had fun! You're both always working hard, it's nice to see some relaxation."

"Heh... Thanks, Mr. Carlsen. I really have to get going though, maybe we'll talk the next time I visit?"

"Of course! We're making lasagna casserole this weekend if you kiddies want to join!" he said as he waved goodbye.

" _Harold_!" the lady whispered harshly, "Kara and her new _friend_ are _lesbians_!"

His mouth gaped open, "Ohhh..."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, "We'll make extra for Kara, she's quite the little piggy."

* * *

Alex rubbed her eyes, "Jesus, that was so disgusting."

"You should've knocked!" Kara nearly shouted, adjusting her seat at the café's coffee table.

Lucy, however, remained silent, her face slightly pink.

"That image is seared into my brain and I'll never get it out," Alex lamented, then her expression took on a more annoyed look, "And it's all because of _you_!"

Kara startled backwards when her glasses were flicked into an odd position, which was quickly remedied when Lucy moved over to fix it.

They stared lovingly, lost in each other's eyes, then noticed that Alex was retching beside them. They quickly turned away and increased their distance from one another.

The older Danvers gagged, "It's like I don't even exist when you two are around each other anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	8. 10, 11, 12, 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supergirl and Lex Luthor have a showdown while Alex and Lucy infiltrate LexCorp's headquarters to stop the unstoppable.
> 
> **TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# 10, 11, 12, 13

* * *

J'onn grumbled, "Rewind the footage to the day General Lane arrived."

The CCTV exhibited panoramic footage of the main H.Q. of the facility.

"Alex, pause right there."

The security camera showed in a dark corner a young man conversing with the doctors and handing them a packet of papers. He was tall and lanky, adorned with an outfit that was similar to a postman, then he turned around and winked at the camera.

Lex Luthor.

"He was right under our noses! Alert the facility! We have to defend it! Sound the alarm!"

* * *

A blaring siren screeched throughout the building and grabbed the attention of all of the agents, then as suddenly as it started, it faltered, as did the rest of the electricity.

The emergency reserves kicked in to supply temporary energy, dimly lighting each room with its fluorescent red glow.

The Kryptonite emitters lowered to the point Kara could finally release herself from the chains, she collapsed against Lucy.

"You're okay, I've got you," the brunette wrapped Kara's arm around her shoulder to support the near-dead weight, "Come on, we've got to go, get outside and into the sun. It looks like we're being infiltrated."

The intercom gave a static sound, and a familiar voice sounded through the speakers, "Hello, D.E.O.! It is I, Lex Luthor." He gave a small chuckle before continuing, "I have sole custody of the Orange Lantern, there's an army approaching the facility in about...oh...let's say...a minute. And I have a message for Supergirl. You're going to end up just like your cousin soon; Metropolis's hero is gone, and now I'm going to do the same to National City's. Entertain me with a glorious battle. This _is_ war after all now. Or you can amuse me by attempting to evacuate, everyone in here is going to die regardless. The building will be reduced to rubble within thirty minutes to an hour, so put your thinking caps on. Ta-ta..."

His message buzzed out and was followed by a loud explosion.

"We've been breached!"

* * *

"Agent Danvers, what are you doing?" J'onn shouted, "We have to meet up with Supergirl and Director Lane!"

"Just give me a minute!" Before he knew it, she came running out with a small box of solar energy filled syringes, "Kara's going to need it."

He nodded in agreement and grunted, shapeshifting into his true form, "Let's move."

They took care of the incoming lanterns relatively well and were near the door. The swarms of aliens ceased to flow, but the number of dead bodies that were strewn around the room would eventually outnumber them.

"They're over there!" Alex pointed. The couple were fighting their way through the lanterns with slightly more ease than their first encounter. It was not in a swift amount of time, but they eventually made it to the pair, initiating an evacuation.

Agent Danvers immediately took the chance and injected Kara with two vials of solar energy, "That should be a sufficient amount, it'll give you some strength, and probably close those wounds of yours."

"I hate needles..." the blonde cursed under her breath, feeling her strength returning.

"There are worse things to worry about right now, sis."

"Fortunately," Lucy added, "These things aren't that tough once you get used to them. Sure, they're strong, but they're all sluggish. I don't think Luthor knows how to control the Orange Lanterns all that well yet."

They waited for the straggling D.E.O. operatives to catch up to them, creating a group of fourteen soldiers, who were all armed.

"There's only thirty-three of them left," J'onn stated, "get into pairs, we're going to flank the entrance."

The agents nodded, covering their positions.

"Supergirl, you're going to take them from above. You need to draw their attention from the inside."

"Got it, chief," Kara felt soft fingers gently squeeze her hand, she turned to see Lucy's slightly upturned lips.

"Be careful."

The blonde smiled, "Always. I promise."

With that she flew high into the sky and slammed into the roof of the building.

J'onn raised his hand to halt the eager soldiers from entering, "Give it twenty seconds."

They lowered their weapons.

"She's taken out six already."

"Leaves us twenty-seven," Alex calculated.

"Actually, twenty-two now," Director Henshaw scoffed, "You gave her _two_ injections?"

"Yeah?"

"That's a bit overpowered, Agent Danvers," J'onn smirked, "Okay. Now! Go!"

The small group stormed into the building and began to gun down the remaining lanterns.

Lucy was equipped with dual wield pistols and fired with such deadly accuracy, taking out four.

Alex's rifle was propped onto her shoulder as she stayed behind cover, sniping the targets from far away.

J'onn was in his true form and flew around with Kara, slamming into the lanterns from opposite ends of the room.

In about ten minutes all of the enemies were defeated. However, the D.E.O. was laid to waste; rubble covered the floors and bodies were layered underneath and on top of them, complemented with shards of shattered glass and broken debris.

The sky darkened.

They all looked up towards the sky and noticed a vast black void was encircling the sun at an alarming speed.

Then it completely eclipsed the star. Only the synthetic lights of the lamps shone dimly upon the Earth.

"What the hell?" Alex gasped, "What time is it?"

The brunette never took her eyes off from where the sun was, "It's supposed to be one in the afternoon."

Kara checked the digital clock on her phone to make sure, but her screen read that an unknown caller was attempting to contact her.

She picked it up, "Who is this?"

"It's me," replied a singing voice.

"Luthor," she growled.

"Meet me at the main headquarters of LexCorp in National City. Honestly hard to miss. I'd like to have a little chat with you before our final showdown," he chuckled, "Oh, and if there's an off-chance that you won't come over, I'll detonate a bomb and blow off about a hundred or so hostages' heads. See you soon!"

* * *

"No!" Lucy shouted, gripping tightly onto her retreating partner's shoulders, "Kara, I'm not letting you go!"

"If I don't those people will die!" the blonde screamed back.

"For all we know he could be bluffing! He's notorious for being a deceiving liar!"

"I'm not willing to take the chance!"

"And I'm not willing to let you go seek him out blindly and get yourself killed!"

"I'm perfectly fine sacrificing my life! You know this!"

"You're going to stand down," the brunette growled, " _That's_ an order."

The Kryptonian's eyes widened, her voice low, "What I do is not up to you."

Kara then sighed, "Let's not talk about this now, okay? I can't keep having this same argument with you over and over again."

The soldier's voice slightly increased in its volume, "So stop avoiding it! Do you have _any_ idea how scared I was during the attack? I thought you..." she trailed off, then picked up her momentum again, "And it's not just that day, it's every single day! I'm terrified all the time, about what could happen to you! I can't just sit at home or at my office, waiting, wondering if you're going to come home, whether or not you made it back!"

"And you assume I don't feel the same? What do you want me to do? You want me to quit? Let Supergirl fade away?" Kara's voice was more firm, "This is who I am, Lucy. I can't just give it up."

Lucy turned to face Alex with a look of desperation, she felt helpless when it came to arguing against Supergirl.

Agent Danvers took a step back, "Woah...I'm going to let you two handle this."

The brunette's eyes narrowed, Alex was quite intimidated and sighed, "Sis...I'm being honest here. Lucy's right, and even if he _is_ serious, the sun is being obscured and you won't be able to garner energy from the solar radiation; that means you won't be able to heal quickly, or at all, if he takes a jab at you. Not to mention he has many weapons at his disposal."

Kara's shoulders sagged.

Lucy added onto Alex's information, "He also took out Superman, with relative ease if you put it in a different perspective. I... _we_...the world can't afford to lose another hero."

Supergirl's forehead creased with empathy, "I understand...but that doesn't influence the choice I've made."

As the brunette was about to open her mouth to protest, Agent Danvers held her back, "You don't _have_ to fight him."

"But I do."

"No, I mean...not in the way you're both thinking."

"Go on, Agent Danvers."

"We have to figure out a way to take down that...Sun Eater, before he commences with his next objective. Kara can distract him, just save the civilians and dodge his attacks until Director Lane and I get rid of that giant blob."

"I'm not liking this layout so far," Lucy commented.

"I'm going to need your expertise, Director."

"And how exactly are you going to get rid of that thing?" the blonde questioned.

"We can pay Luthor's headquarters a visit as well to see if he's holding any documents in a file safe or the like."

"How long do you think that's going to take?"

"Frankly, to get there and analyze the data, probably thirty minutes to an hour assuming he's bumped up his security. To stop the giant ass blob, an additional hour to an hour and a half if we have the right materials and equipment."

"How do we even know if he has any information about these things?"

"He's a scientist, and we _always_ keep our research," Alex explained, "And, if anything goes wrong, scientists always have a backup plan."

Kara nodded slowly, registering the weight of the Earth's dire plight, "Got it, I can hold him off for three hours at the most."

Suddenly Lucy enveloped the young hero in a fierce embrace, her voice cracked, she could feel the tears building up behind her eyelids, "Please...I can't lose you again..."

"You won't. I promise," the blonde whispered softly, brushing the brunette's locks with her fingers, grazing her lips on her forehead, "Stronger together."

For some reason, that oath put her heart to ease and a warm sense of comfort and relief overtook her. Kara always kept her word, and she would never make a promise she could not keep, so this reassured Lucy.

The brunette sighed, "Come back to me, okay?"

"I will."

A rush of wind flared against the love-struck soldier, and she was gone a second later.

Then a voice shook her out of her solemn reverie, "Hey, Director Lane." It was Alex, who was grinning with utter confidence, "Stop dicking around, we've got a world to save."

Lucy laughed, "Right you are, Danvers. Right you are."

* * *

LexCorp's headquarters hardly looked like an industrial factory, it was more of a very ostentatious manor or an estate. It seemed to have been recently built as the walls were lined with lead, preventing Supergirl from utilizing her x-ray vision.

"You won't be able to locate the hostages," Luthor chuckled brightly, strutting his way around the top of the building's platform, "Ah...this gives me some nostalgia."

Kara stalked straight towards the man and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt, "Release them or I swear I'll..."

"Kill me?" Luthor finished, "We know you can't do that. What a pathetic threat. Let me try."

He coughed, clearing his throat, "Ahem...you do anything to me before our battle and I'll blow all of the hostages' teeth into their brains. I remember when Clark Kent was in this collateral position. Only...it was only his mother I took. This time, I decided to give Eliza Danvers some company."

Kara dropped him onto the ground when she saw his devilish grin, her face flared with rage, eyes glowing an intense blue, "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing. Yet," he sighed, "Their fates are really up to you, Kara Danvers."

He continued to further explain, "You have maybe...thirty minutes until the automatic timer goes off, let's see how flexible you are facing against that challenge, and against me."

A large robot rocketed right beside him, lifting him from the ground and placing him into the pilot's seat, "Don't worry, this isn't just for show. It's to make it a little more even."

Kara glanced at his mechanical giant and then to where the sun was supposed to be, "This is hardly what one would call _fair_."

"Oh, don't be a poor sport, Kara," he whined, "Clearly you don't see the potential I do. Prove to me that I'm not overestimating you, and hopefully you'll put up a better fight than that cousin of yours."

With that, he launched his thrusters and sped towards Supergirl.

* * *

"You really think we can do this, Agent Danvers?"

"Fifty-fifty," Alex sighed, strapping on her armored vest and lightweight gear, reloading her marksman rifle, "There's a chance he'll be focusing all of his firepower on Kara, that or he's going to tighten up security."

Lucy's face creased with worry.

The older Danvers set her hand on the brunette's shoulder, "Hey...she's going to be just fine."

"Yeah..." came her unsure reply as she fumbled around with her pistols and slung her submachine gun over her neck, "I'll take point, cover me."

"Kara's going to kill me if something happens to you," Alex groaned.

"Likewise, agent," Director Lane smirked, readying her primary weapon and leaning towards her communications device attached to her upper arm, "Vasquez? Do you have a visual on us?"

"Yes, we do."

"How about the floor plans of the building?"

"Yes, you're positioned at the employee back entrance. What you two need to do is make your way down underground towards basement level three, we'll send you the map on your tactical glasses' H.U.D.s. We've also got an insider working for security, so he'll disable the camera trackers and some of the doors for you, but it's good to note that he only has access up to basement level two. Level three has communication scrambling emitters and E.M.P.s, so from then on you guys are on your own."

"Copy that, and we'll try to avoid casualties," Alex answered, taking out her tranquilizer darts and stun gun, "Let's go get them, Director."

Lucy quietly creaked the door open and slipped through stealthily, followed by Danvers, "Two hostiles located at my ten and two, we'll both subdue them, you take left and I take right."

The soldiers silently approached behind the security guards and caught them in a choke hold, and after a minute the guards stopped struggling, unconscious.

They made their way towards the lift and entered the passkey to go to level B2.

An elevator tune began to play from the speakers.

Both stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, then Alex chimed in, "Well, he may be an asshole, but he certainly has good taste in music."

Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Focus on the mission, Danvers."

The resonant high-pitched ding of the lift alerted the agents that their destination was reached.

The partners exited with their firearms raised, steadying their positions. The environment was a narrow hallway tinted by the red of the dim lights.

"This is strangely...empty."

Alex's simple statement caused Lucy to amplify her caution, "Scour the rooms, don't split up, I'm taking point."

After a few minutes rummaging through each of the two office's files, they came up empty.

"I'm not surprised," Director Lane stated, "He probably keeps all of his documents in B3."

"Let's get to the elevator then," Alex sighed, moving towards the rustic cage to slide it open, waiting for her superior until she pressed the button. The clanking and creaking of the scraping metal grated on their eardrums.

"Our comms are down," Lucy said.

The lowest floor was unexpectedly messy, as if it had been abandoned. The walls were covered in leaking, rusted pipes and rats littered the ground. The smell was deathly putrid, making the soldiers' noses scrunch up in disgust.

"Ugh, God. You're positive this is the place?" Alex asked, plugging her nose, "For a top secret level in a billionaire facility you'd think that he'd install higher tech here."

"There _is_ higher tech here, Agent Danvers," Lucy commented, wiping the dust from a large control system, activating the holographic diagrams.

"What is it, Director?"

"A lexicon. It looks like some sort of weapon, with a scale of three football fields."

"Where is it?"

"No idea."

"Here, let me look at this hunk of junk."

"Deactivate the comm scramblers while you're at it," Lucy said, moving away from the panel.

"I'm a bioengineer, not a hacker. It's not exactly my forte."

"I'm deducing that because of the state of this place, the security is probably going to be just as bad. I'm sure you've developed some basic hacking skills while you were at the D.E.O."

* * *

"Found it!" Agent Danvers cried, "It's got a biometric scanner though, this might take a while."

"Good," Director Lane acknowledged, then changed the channel of her comms, "Kara? I've found some feed on the hostages, they're positioned a few miles south of LexCorp in an abandoned warehouse that used to belong to Lord Industries."

The blonde blindingly flew towards the location and reached it in a matter of minutes. The warehouse though, was an old building and had begun to erode along with the environment around it. She crashed through the window and found that they were trapped in a large cell. She bent the steel bars open and the civilians proceeded to evacuate. Eliza slid by and gave Kara a nod.

There were only a little over ten civilians left before a large explosion was heard, reducing the building to rubble. However, Supergirl prevented the remaining survivors from getting flattened as she stood between them and a hunk of concrete.

As they were escaping, she felt a sharp pain pierce her back, followed by another and another, but she refused to let the wall of stone fall on her watch. Fortunately, she withstood the bullets enough to provide the final hostage with enough time to escape.

"Your perseverance is truly admirable," the Luthor complimented, "You're quite an interesting specimen of your kind."

Kara flipped the rock over and fell on all fours, panting and sweating with extreme exhaustion. Her strength was being drained, and the fact that there was no sun to provide her with solar radiation made matters even worse.

* * *

"According to the documents, Sun Eaters are artificial organisms that were created by the Maltusian race known as the Controllers as a powerful weapon of mass destruction," Alex informed, "They were nebulas that had the ability to drain entire stars of their energy, and thus, cause a solar system to freeze as well as kill all living beings native to that region of space."

"And how the hell do we stop a thing of that caliber?"

"Lex developed an anti-energy weapon known as the Entropy Bomb," Agent Danvers stated, striding her way over to a large terminal system, "It's shot from a super powered cannon into the core of the Sun Eater, and with its destruction, the Entropy Bomb should be sufficient enough to propel the remains of the Sun Eater away and reignite the star."

"Where'd he acquire enough solar radiation to create another sun?"

"Parallax's energy is sealed within the weapon. He's a parasitic entity born from the yellow of the emotional spectrum: fear," Alex attached a small device onto the chassis of the system, and began to conduct a search for the activation of the bomb.

"I'm familiar with the Sinestro Corps of lanterns that inherited their powers from it," Lucy sighed, "I thought the Green Lantern took care of Parallax though?"

"Apparently Lex managed to get his hands on some of its life force before it perished."

"And where exactly is this weapon?"

Alex stopped typing, her voice was filled with a tone of surprise, "It's...It's here...this entire facility is the bomb."

Right then the alarms went off, the intercom repeating, "Intruder alert."

* * *

"It looks like your friends successfully made it to their objective," Luthor said nonchalantly, shrugging, "It's the least I expect from two of the most skilled operatives of the D.E.O. Aha! It also looks like the sentry's been activated, unfortunate that the organization you work for is about to lose two of its most prominent members."

Kara widened her eyes and shouted into her comms, "Alex! Lucy! Get out of there!"

"We're on it!" the soldiers yelled back, behind the cover of the steel crates as a large machine continued to unload its machine gun in their direction.

"Director Lane, we have five minutes to get out of here before the cannon activates."

"Agent Danvers, do you still have that smoke bomb?" Lucy asked, reloading her pistols.

"Yeah. Do you think that the sentry has thermal detection?" Alex replied with another question, finger pulling on the pin of her grenade.

"Fifty-fifty," the brunette chuckled.

"Worth a shot. On three. One. Two. _Three!_ " Danvers propelled the object, clanking onto the steel of the sentry.

Both of them sprinted towards the elevator, Director Lane took the front and shot at the fire extinguishers, causing them to fling themselves around the room as the doors closed.

But one of the sentry's bullets hulked through a few crates and sliced into Lucy's skin just as the elevator shut.

"Shit!" the brunette yelped in pain, falling on her knees and applying pressure onto her left hip.

"Let me take a look," Alex sat her down against the wall and observed the wound, "Luckily, it's not that deep thanks to those crates that dulled its initial velocity. We can get you patched up easy once this is over."

* * *

Kara's energy was extremely lacking; she could barely keep her stance firm and her fists upright. There was no part of her body that was not hurting, and finally, she fell.

Suddenly a quake rumbled the ground, followed by a white pillar of light that shot through the sky into the trajectory of the sun.

The Kryptonian blurrily spotted her sister and lover emerging from the crater's ashes of what was formerly LexCorp. She gave them a relieved smile and they reciprocated.

But their faces were shrouded by a large silhouette.

Luthor was targeting them now.

As he pulled his hand back to smash the two into bloody pancakes, the sun's rays shined through and gifted Kara with renewed strength to match her panicked desperation.

She boosted off of the ground and plunged straight through the back of Luthor's giant suit and out the chest, tackling his body from the machine and into the opposite building.

The soldiers followed suit, Alex sprinted while Lucy limped as fast as she could to catch up with them.

When she arrived, the scene was not a pleasant one.

Lex's corpse didn't bother her, not as much as Alex attempting to calm down her hyperventilating little sister, who repeated a chilling statement with harsh whispers.

"I...I k-killed him..."

She reeled back, "I killed him..."

Then Kara's exhaustion took over and she fainted, surrounded by the crumbling wreckage of National City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	9. Penitence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy can't seem to catch a break despite all of her efforts, especially Kara, who continues to struggle with the aftermath of her ravaging duel. Their relationship has never faced a greater challenge.
> 
> **TRIGGER WARNING: HEAVY ANGST.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Penitence

* * *

The sun's rays were successfully restored, but Kara's beaming light disappeared, her face constantly projected a darkening mood.

At Lucy's pleading, she sought medical attention with the D.E.O.'s psychiatrist and psychologist a week later, who both diagnosed her with major depressive disorder. Neither of them were unfamiliar with that process. Kara, who used to be so happy and so bright, regardless of how hopeless the situation was; who was kind, patient, and tolerant to others whether she liked them or not. All of those aspects that made her Kara disappeared the moment she saved Alex and Lucy from death's daunting gaze, turning the tables on Lex Luthor.

The disturbed blonde was on medical leave from CatCo, and did not work much for the D.E.O. as there had been a strange absence of threatening alien activity. She spent most of her days curled up in a fetal position in bed, her wistful eyes barely peeking out of the covers, rarely eating, never setting foot out of the apartment. Her mental stupor caused her to remain in an almost catatonic state. She seldom talked, but when she did her voice was tiny and it held no confidence, she mostly communicated through the nodding or shaking of her head. She never sat at the dinner table anymore, which prompted Lucy to deliver her meal on a plate; it was always left untouched atop the nightstand.

The brunette could only helplessly watch as her lover delved deeper into the pits of despair.

The doctors said that everyone dealt with depression in their own way, and that their loved ones should hold patience and wait for them to return home. Some might take longer than others to recover, but the majority of the time it was short-lived is what they said. However, they neglected, or rather chose not, to tell Lucy that this wound of Kara's would possibly never heal, never scar over. She would continue to bleed and carry that burden the rest of her life.

J'onn was the only other person that knew the extent of her situation besides Alex and Lucy, the rest of the world either berated her or praised her for the death of Lex Luthor.

However, none of them could deeply understand Supergirl's inner plight. J'onn, Alex, and Lucy were bred as soldiers, they have killed on orders from their superiors and almost never questioned it, they were prepared for the weight it carried.

Kara was not.

The younger Lane soon came to realize that her lover's unintentional avenging of Clark's death had caused an irreparable impact. Even Alex's faith in her little sister's resolve was destabilized, the young hero's resilience was tested beyond its limits. Kara was at an impasse, now a pitiful child worn out from the world's problems and expectations. Her facial expressions were distant, cold, and stiff, like cynicism overcame her prior hopeful demeanor.

Lucy would be lying if she said she was not frustrated and hurt by Kara's defensive maneuver to detach herself from her relationships. The brunette felt as if an impenetrable wall surrounded the young hero, forcing her into solitude, her thoughts isolated from everyone else, only deep remorse and loneliness keeping her company.

It was psychologically jarring for the blonde. Winn, James, Alex, and sometimes even J'onn would come to visit individually to check up on Kara. Her older sister eventually held gatherings at the apartment at least once a week, and even Lois showed up. The younger Danvers was truly grateful, but they served as a constant reminder that everything was not normal, that her life had become warped since the battle. One day, Kara abruptly yelled at everyone, shouting at them to leave her alone, flipping the table over. Alex apologized to everybody of her unwarranted explosion, her tantrum breaking several plates. The damaged girl knew that it was uncalled for and she regretted it the moment she stormed out and stomped into her bedroom, soon she called her friends that had to experience her outburst to apologize profusely. They all sympathized with her, glad that she got some of the rage off of her chest. Her request was answered, the gatherings stopped and she only socialized with her friends if she willingly sought them out.

Lucy. She was a different story. She was immediately there for every single trivial thing that she could possibly need. The brunette knew Kara absolutely dreaded feeling helpless so she gave her the physical and emotional space that she needed. Lex's use of Kryptonite on her restricted some of her movements the first few weeks, so Lucy always went out of her way to rearrange wires and re-position furniture to make the most ideal, non-hazardous environment for her partner, like she did when she herself was injured. The dishes' and silverwares' locations were moved for better access, the remote control was always within reach, all of Kara's favorite foods and movies magically appeared in the refrigerator and shelves, and she always woke up to the sight of homemade breakfast. In the meantime, the soldier continued to be the young hero's anchor.

Lucy never demanded or asked of anything from her, never forced her to talk about her feelings as she had hoped Kara would seek her out when she was ready. She waited weeks, then they passed by like a haze, she had initially thought the blonde's emotional release would improve things. Her passions became mild, then she became disinterested, opting to never leave her room. They spoke to each other less, only consisting of daily niceties like "good morning" or "how are you" or "how was your day". When it was bedtime Kara would move as far away from Lucy as possible, laying on the edge with her back turned.

The brunette immensely desired to talk to her, about anything, but was uncertain and worried she would worsen things. Eventually, she turned to Alex, who was just as pained as she was.

"I've...I've tried _everything_. I don't know what to do anymore. She's not budging," Lucy's tone was hopeless.

"I know," the auburn-haired woman nodded solemnly, "I have as well. We want answers that no one can give us. Even my mom, who always seemed to hold the key to cheering Kara up, doesn't know what to do."

"It's been _four_ months, that's one-third of an entire year!"

"I know..."

The younger Lane pondered Lois's comment on the matter from a few days ago, she said, "I know that you and Alex both love her dearly, but you both need to put yourselves in consideration as well. You're caring for her at the expense of yourselves, and that's not sustainable. You can't always be secondary. Sooner or later something's going to break."

Lucy sighed, blinking the tears away.

Kara loved them both very much, but she could not help but partially blame them for what happened. It was unreasonable, she knew. Their interactions with one another continued to lessen, and Alex distracted herself with the busy work life of the D.E.O. to cope, hoping to give her little sister more time to heal. Lucy though, she never gave up, but her resolve continued to diminish after every rejected invitation she received when she wanted to do something together. In time, even the strong soldier's light was drained, complementing her partner's lack as well.

It did not go unnoticed.

"You deserve better."

Lucy paused, hovering the plate of food just above the nightstand as per usual, "W-What?"

Silence.

"You deserve to be happy."

"What...what're you saying?"

"I'm saying..." Kara sat up harshly, "that I don't want to be responsible for what you're feeling right now. I know that I'm effecting you too."

"I'm not doing this with you."

"Well, _I_ am."

The brunette hesitated before sitting on the bed, intertwining their fingers like they have not done in months, "You may have given up, but I haven't. Not on you. Not on us. I'm still fighting."

Kara's nostrils flared and anger flashed in her eyes, she retracted her hand, "I don't want to fight anymore! Don't you get it, Lucy!"

The blonde stormed out of the apartment, seething with rage.

This time, she really hoped that this was the release that her beloved needed.

But it was around two in the morning and she had not come back home. Lucy paced in the living room, grumbling worriedly before finally deciding to call Kara's older sister, "Alex?"

"Yeah?" the woman yawned on the other line, "What's up?"

"Is she with you?"

Agent Danvers immediately knew who she was referring to, "No, but she did ask me if I wanted to go to the local bar with her. I said I'd love to but she suddenly changed her mind."

"I'll go look for her, she was talking about the one near our apartment, right? A few blocks away?"

"Yeah, want me to come with?"

"No, it's okay, you can go back to sleep. It's within walking distance. Thank you."

Alex wanted to argue but decided against it as she thought it was best for the couple to settle things by themselves. She wanted to help mitigate whatever Kara would say as she had gotten more aggravated and irritable.

Her phone disconnected and she went back to bed.

Lucy, on the other hand, pulled on her jeans and Kara's favorite sweater before taking the umbrella out of the closet as the heavy rain thundered on the roof. She paused, pulling out a small box from the drawer. The brunette held it close to her heart, reinforcing her strength before she strode out of the door.

* * *

"Hey..."

Kara turned towards the reluctant voice and scrutinized its source, slurring her words, "Lucy."

"Are you... _drunk_?"

"Yeah!" the blonde chuckled, "Turns out I just need to drink a shit ton to get intoxicated!"

The man behind the bar commented, "Like...a _shit_ ton."

Lucy glared at the bartender before glancing gently back at her girlfriend, "Let's go home."

Kara retreated, "I don't _want_ to go home! Not with _you_! I _hate_ you! Did you even consider the fact that I left to get _away_ from you!"

The brunette reeled back, the blunt outburst hit her hard, "I-I know you don't mean that."

"How do _you_ know what I feel! Just...go away!"

Lucy obliged, backing off so as not to cause a scene.

It was three in the morning when the blonde came stumbling out of the bar in her inebriated state, shocked by the pouring rain, which suddenly stopped. Kara looked up to see her lover's patient and kind face, holding up the umbrella and draping her own coat around her, voice gentle, "Let's go home."

No response.

It was now or never.

Opening the lid of the small jewelry box, she cradled a bracelet that to her, held an immense amount of love, "It's a charm bracelet I bought for you, each ornament represents a significant event. A copper-bronze box for the day I moved in, a chocolate pie for our food fight, blue and green orbs to match our eyes, a sparkle for the time we stargazed, a raindrop for the day you flew us home when my car broke down and it was pouring, a heart for our first time, and..."

However, the romantic gesture only served to intensify Kara's distress, she slapped her hand away, in turn making the umbrella and bracelet fly onto the concrete ground, neither of them minding the drenching rain, "You don't get it do you? I don't _want_ to be with you anymore! I'm breaking up with you! I can't look at you and relive the moment that I _murdered_ someone! Just...leave! Don't you realize you're doing all of this in vain? I _can't_ be fixed! By _anyone_!"

Lucy inhaled deeply, her stinging tears overflowing and mixing with the rain, "Kara, I don't need a 'thank you' or anything in return. I just want you to get better, so please, let me do that; I care about you, I love you so much."

The blonde was crying as well, both their visions were blurred, by the rain or by the tears they did not know. Lucy reached up to caress Kara's cheek, but her arm was roughly slapped away.

" _Don't_...touch me..."

The broken hero turned and walked off, but before she could go any farther, Lucy caught up and gripped her shoulder, "Please...don't go. If you do...I don't know if...if I can go on like this. I can give you more time, more space, anything, but please...don't go...there won't be anything left of me to give you..."

Kara faced her lover and saw beautiful verdant eyes that harbored a hint of hope, but she replied with a low and shaky voice, "I'm sorry..."

Her statement held such stark and definitive finality that it disturbed the brunette.

Kara watched the forest jade hue darken, the last of its compelling light completely fading from her now ex-girlfriend's eyes, same as her own.

Then she roughly removed the hand on her shoulder and walked away, the sound of the gravel trailing her footsteps, leaving Lucy's shattered heart in its wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	10. 15, 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maxwell Lord and the General desire to further crush Supergirl's fragile emotional state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# 15, 16

* * *

Kara returned to the apartment two days later from Alex's and noticed that it was somehow emptier. She realized that it was devoid of Lucy's important belongings and the happy memories they shared. However, it seemed she was in a rush to escape as the majority of her clothes and objects she deemed as replaceable was untouched. It was not until now that she figured the choice she made last night was a mistake due to her drunken stupor; she could still feel the hangover lingering, but it did not stop her from crumbling to the floor and breaking down into body-wracking sobs. She hated herself for making one of the closest people in her life endure such emotional stress.

But it was for the best. For Lucy.

* * *

_James sighed, "Look, I've known for a while that you've had feelings for her. A long time actually."_

_He paused, Kara unwilling to break the silence, then, "Lucy and I aren't together anymore. So what's holding you back?"_

_The blonde sighed and brushed her unruly locks with her fingers, "She doesn't feel the same way about me, and she never will."_

_He scoffed, "How will you know if you don't give it a chance?"_

" _Okay, fine. Suppose I did ask her out, and she said yes...you saw what happened between Adam and I. People aren't safe around me."_

_Kara gazed down from the balcony of CatCo, her eyes thoughtful, "Being Supergirl...it comes with a cost."_

" _That's crap and you know it. Look at your cousin. Clark manages. Maybe you're just scared."_

 _The hero felt irked, "Can you blame me? James, I've lost_ everything _and_ everyone _I've ever loved: my parents, my friends, Aunt Astra, my entire home."_

_She began to make her way back into the building, "I can't risk losing her too. This is just how it needs to be."_

* * *

Lucy did not fare so well either, calling Lois at the last minute and requesting in uneven breaths if she could stay with her in Metropolis for a while. They were never that close, in fact, it would be more accurate to call their relationship with one another estranged, but they were still sisters and they still cared. So, Lois did not hesitate to say yes, for if it was one thing they shared, they both lost someone special to them.

However, Lucy was thankful that the business of her position kept her occupied, and she spent most of her time holed up in her office at the D.E.O. Supergirl preferred to be contacted through earpiece by Alex, who debriefed her with details of her mission so she would not have to encounter her ex at the facility.

J'onn and Agent Danvers silently thanked their deities that they did not have to suffer through the potential awkwardness of the breakup, so were Winn and James, but they were all still worried for the two women.

* * *

After a week, Lucy noticed a discrepancy with the data that they collected from Lord Industries and LexCorp, which was now being run by Lena Luthor, who was more than willing to disclose any information that would aid the organization.

Director Lane decided to conduct a meeting with her highest ranked operatives.

"The Calculator and Riddler have been very quiet, along with Deathstroke and Hush. I suspect that someone higher up in the chain is directing them, possibly the General or Maxwell Lord."

"Are you saying that they've been dispatched on a mission?" an agent asked.

"Yes, and that they're most likely targeting the Pentagon. I was also notified by General Lane that there would be a top-secret convention being held there within a few days, with the world's leaders and highest officials attending. What is peculiar to me, is that they need to send four ingenious criminals."

"That's preposterous!" another agent shouted, "The Department of Defense is protected with the best security technology mankind can build!"

"That doesn't mean it's impossible to infiltrate. Hush is a master of disguise and Deathstroke and him are mercenaries. They're merciless when it comes to money. But Calculator and Riddler, they crave knowledge, and I think they're going to hack into the building's database simultaneously."

"Then we can tell them to bump up security tenfold."

"I'm not sure that'll even stop them in the slightest bit," Lucy sighed, "I'm going to send a large squadron to the Pentagon and hopefully they can gather some intel. Dismissed."

Alex slid next to the sleep deprived woman, "You need to rest, overworking isn't exactly the healthiest way to cope."

The soldier ignored her advice, "Is she okay?"

"Honestly..." the older Danvers started, "I haven't seen her that often, but she's been avoiding me less, and I'm sure that she's doing worse without you."

"Right..." came the bitter retort.

"Hey...I know you two can sort this out. Kara still loves you. She did what she thought was best for you and her, only I don't think it really worked out the way she wanted it to, but things have a way of aligning themselves."

"I haven't given up on her if that's what you're trying to imply, Danvers."

"I know," Alex chuckled, "But...aren't you going to send her with the team to the Pentagon? She probably wants to find out what's going on as much as we do."

"Supergirl has other things to worry about. Besides, I - the world," she corrected herself, "...the world can't risk losing her."

* * *

Kara rudely stormed into Lucy's office unannounced, "Why!"

The brunette casually glanced up her papers and swallowed her emotions, "Why what?"

The Kryptonian stalked up to the desk and slammed her fists down, causing the wood to groan from the force, "Why didn't you let me go with them!"

"National City simply needs you to remain here," came the calm answer.

"So you sent dozens of agents to their deaths?"

That struck a nerve. Lucy glared up at the blonde, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," she narrowed her eyes.

"I sent them to garner intel, not fight," the brunette scoffed, slightly offended.

"And if they have no other choice?"

"Sometimes you must concede a battle to win a war. Sacrifices are necessary."

"How could you say that!"

The woman slammed her fists down, "Goddammit, I'm a soldier! _Not_ a hero! I'm not constantly driven to fix everything for everyone!" Lucy growled, pointing an accusatory finger at her, "I can't be a perfect, selfless knight in shining spandex and a flowy cape like you! I'm human! I make mistakes! But I learn from them too! Sometimes I can't help but make inconsiderate and thoughtless choices, despite what my position means to others!"

Finally, she admitted, "I would gladly sacrifice the lives of strangers if it meant I could save the people I love."

"I-I could never do that..." the young hero whispered hoarsely.

"You don't know until you've experienced it for yourself." At this point the brunette was attempting to cool her breathing.

Suddenly Lucy realized a subconscious part of her intent on sending the teams of agents to the Pentagon. It was to protect _her_ , albeit in a selfish and cruel way. The Director's dedication to her operatives was undoubtedly strong and her leadership was unquestionably objective, but if she were to select between the world and Kara, she would not hesitate to choose the latter. However, the Kryptonian remained oblivious to that fact, and also the fact that she would do the same.

"Please," the soldier said sternly, turning away, her stance firm, "Leave."

"I..."

"That's an _order_ , Supergirl."

Kara immediately backed off, and retreated to the exit, gliding past Alex's forlorn gaze.

* * *

Lucy has had her fair share of pain as well; her parents' divorce, the loss of her mother, always living in Lois's shadow, and her gradual estrangement from her entire family. During her time serving in the Army, she had witnessed suffering and war when she was stationed in Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip in Palestine. So many comrades under her command were lost, mostly due to unforeseen circumstances, but she could not help but blame her inability as a leader and friend to her soldiers. She left the horrors back in the Middle East, but she also could not help taking some of the trauma with her. Since her promotion to the rank of major, she had not been in the field as often, opting to work behind the lines as she was an integral asset. However, she would miss it on occasion, hence she requested to be dispatched much more than necessary as others in her position.

The brunette shuddered at the memories, strolling along the snow-covered sidewalk, only lit by the street lamps and luminescence of the moon, complemented with several snowflakes that floated in the air. At least she did not shut herself in Lois's household as often as she did when she first moved in. Lucy found it relaxing to be alone at night; she did not mind the unfamiliarity of Metropolis, and she could handle herself just fine from muggers and thugs. Besides, the area that she went out at night was not as sketchy as when she was on patrol duty in a restricted section during her time as a private or sergeant.

It was mostly to divert her attention away from Kara. Since their confrontation in the Director's office, they made even less contact afterwards if that was even possible.

Lucy kicked the snow on the concrete and sighed, shivering at the cold. She neglected to bring any warm accessories, but her long coat would suffice as she stuffed her frozen hands into the fuzzy pockets.

Their breakup was more closely described as bittersweet. Bitter for obvious reasons as they still yearned for one another. Sweet because they were thankful that they had experienced such love.

However, their reasons for ignoring each other were slightly different. Lucy refused to be a token, a memoir, allocated to Lex Luthor's untimely death, and respected the Kryptonian's wish to be left alone. Kara was telling the truth when she said that the brunette reminded her of that fateful day, but it was mostly to protect her, to keep her safe. If Supergirl's enemies were given the tiniest hint that her former lover could be utilized as leverage, they would not hesitate to jump at the opportunity. She was worried for Alex as well, but J'onn's attachment assured her that her older sister would be in the safest hands at the D.E.O.

Unfortunately for the young hero, the attempt to defend her ex-girlfriend proved fruitless.

A tall, looming shadow several feet away was slowly approaching Lucy, it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, but she thought nothing of it as her job always called for caution, it was a natural reaction. It made her no less skeptical though.

She eyed the silhouette's every move, hand prepped to pull out her pistol. Once they were a few feet away, Lucy noticed the man reached behind him.

They both drew their weapons out, but he was much faster, releasing two darts from the chamber, injecting her neck with some unknown fluid.

Lucy's vision doubled and she collapsed onto her hands, and as she heard the footsteps reach a closer proximity, she swiped up her gun and pulled the trigger.

"Shit!" the man hissed in pain, clutching his shoulder, then he chuckled like a maniac, "I _like_ you! Got some fight in there!"

The figure emerged from the shadows and cupped her cheek. He was clean shaven and bald. His face was as pale as a ghost, skin as smooth as alabaster. The brunette spotted a row of tally marks on his collar bone.

"V-Victor...Zsasz..."

* * *

"We've found traces of Director Lane's blood a few blocks away from where she lives, we're positive that she was taken captive by at least two criminals roughly five hours ago and they clearly wanted to make a show of it."

Kara was visibly shaking at this news, with her older sister attempting to comfort her, giving hugs and whispering into her ear that she would be "just fine", only Alex was unsure of who she was referring to.

* * *

"Hey," Alex cooed, patting her distraught little sister's back, "We're going to find her. I promise."

Kara abruptly stood up and began to pace around her apartment, "For all we know they could've killed her already!"

"You can't think like that. Your girlfriend is a tough survivor."

"What was I thinking? I knew I should've just kept my identity a secret, she'd be safe! What was I thinking, dragging Lucy into this? I should've known..."

Alex interrupted, "Kara, _none_ of this is your fault."

The blonde sighed in despair, "Of course it is. If I wasn't with Lucy, none of this would've happened! She'd be here! Safe and sound! And now...I-I don't know what to do," she took a deep breath and whispered hoarsely, "Alex...I can't lose anyone else..."

"And you won't," the agent replied, "I promise you, we're going to get her home."

"I have to go alone or else they'll kill her; I can't have the D.E.O. behind my back!"

"I won't let you, it's too dangerous."

"But she'll die!"

Alex nodded, blinking slowly, but reluctantly, "You're going to go against my demands anyway. I know how much she means to you. Even though I'm aware of how capable you are...just...be careful, okay?"

"I will."

"I'm going to give you a few hours to get her back, but after that I'm sending in troops. I'll station them out a few miles away."

* * *

"Sis! I need medics at my location and a transportation unit! It's Lucy, she's...she's in bad shape, and Victor Zsasz and Lady Shiva are down."

"On it! And...done! Just tell me what the situation is."

"They drugged her, with something they manufactured themselves, and one of them had a cure, so I took it and gave it to Lucy."

"It's all right, me and my team will take a look at it once we extract samples from her body."

The Kryptonian was slightly relieved, as she knew her sister was the best biochemist in the D.E.O., "Her thigh was also stabbed, and the same leg is broken."

"We can get those fixed fine, don't worry, we'll handle it. Just make sure she stays conscious until they arrive."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	11. Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events that have unfolded following Lucy's rescue is bittersweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Miracle

* * *

"What do you mean you found nothing?" Kara nearly shouted.

"I know you're upset," Alex soothed, stroking her back, "But we found absolutely no traces. It's like the serum wiped out every last bit of the drug, including itself. Likely Lord's or Luthor's methods on keeping their products' secrets safe."

"So, how is she then?"

"All of her systems are in perfect condition, we observed the cure doing its magic a few seconds before it just went 'poof'," Alex grinned, pleased with the outcome, "She also received physical afflictions; nasty contusion on her abdomen, deep stab wound on the rectus femoris, and fractured fibula and broken tibia. Even _those_ injuries have begun to heal at an accelerated rate, shockingly a hell of a lot faster than your factor. It works like stem cells, so the research indicates that the serum acts as a keeper of a kind of map inside adult tissues, telling cells where they are and what they should be. It's genius really."

"English please."

"Right," she chuckled sheepishly, "It's been a long night. Stomach bruise, stabbed thigh, and two areas where her leg bones are injured. Despite those pretty serious wounds, her abdomen has completely healed a few hours ago along with her stab wound, now, her broken bones might take another few hours to heal as well. We expect a full recovery, but Director Lane is probably going to be a bit unsettled for a little while, her captivity must've been...disturbing, to say the least. We're keeping her in the unit for a while longer to run some tests to make sure there are no psychological traumas and that the drugs aren't playing tricks or anything like that."

Alex continued, "As for Zsasz, he's dead, and Woosan, she's been interrogated and..."

"Nothing?" Kara finished.

"Nothing," she affirmed, clasping her younger sister's hand, "I'm sorry."

The blonde exposed a slight smile, "It's fine. I'm just glad she's alive."

The older Danvers squeezed her sister's fingers, her body language tense.

"Is something wrong?"

She was silent for a moment before inhaling, "It's just...I need to talk to you about the Pentagon."

Kara's body went rigid.

Alex continued, sucking in another deep breath, "We evacuated as much personnel as possible within a three-mile radius, and increased the security for the conference room and the database. About sixty or so of our agents remained stationed in every entrance and every corner of the building. The perimeter was in check, but..."

She gulped, unable to go on.

The Kryptonian urged her, "But?"

She sighed, "There were no survivors."

Kara felt dizzy and nauseated, leaning on her sister's desk for dear life, "That's...that's not possible. The best officers were sent out. It's a highly guarded federal government facility. Unbelievable. W-What about General La-"

" _No_ survivors," Alex interrupted, her repetition firmer, "I'm sorry. By the time I got there with backup...everything was in ruins."

"What happened?" Kara asked, her tone desperate.

Agent Danvers shook her head and shuddered, rubbing her own shoulders as if to comfort herself, "I-I don't want to talk about it."

The response was alarming as Alex was a veteran in field operations and witnessed many revolting things and detestable people. Clearly, what she saw when she arrived at the Pentagon had sickened her to the very core.

Kara prodded no further than that, opting for a different source of information.

* * *

Once the Kryptonian returned to her apartment, she immediately turned on the news channel on television. She really wanted to avoid asking anyone at the D.E.O. as even J'onn was opposed to disclosing any information as well.

A headline popped onto the bottom of the screen titled _Live: Nightmare at the Pentagon_.

The anchorwoman was visibly disturbed climbing through the wreckage of the building with the cameraman shakily following suit, however, she managed to keep her report calm and collected, "Approximately fourteen hours ago the Department of Defense was attacked by a group of supervillains named Noah Kuttler, Edward Nigma, Slade Wilson, and Thomas Elliot, who are known by their alter egos as Calculator, Riddler, Deathstroke, and Hush respectively. Their motives are unknown and the federal government has refused to give a comment, but if you ask me, a group of four felons working together doesn't bode well for the future, folks. Not too long ago, Oswald Cobblepot unleashed his massive organized crime against the primary bases of each of the military faction, completely reducing four classified buildings to ashes. Could these two incidents be related? As of this moment, there're no survivors reported for the destruction of the Pentagon, and honored, decorated officials were murdered during a top secret conference that took place here: Secretary of Defense, General Lane, heads of the United Nations, then ambassadors and delegates that represented their countries from the European Union to name a few. Right now we're going to move to the entrance to have a very first look as to what this crowd is gathering for."

The woman climbed down from the jagged remnants of the building, and made way to the entering of the facility with the cameraman in pursuit.

There were masses of people chunked around the doors with state police steadily pushing them back. The footage pointed to the ground and maneuvered through the crying and screaming crowd and eventually made its way towards the front.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what you're about to see here is extremely disturbing and viewer discretion is extremely advised. If you're squeamish, I highly recommend shutting down your screen right now as this roll is going to be completely uncensored."

The camera slowly panned upwards to show an absolutely petrifying sight.

The attendees of the conference were impaled or hanged by either their heads, arms, or feet from the tip of the rubble, some of them mutilated, skinned, and mangled. Even hours from then some of them continued to bleed, their flesh ragged, tissue beginning to rot and develop the stench of decay.

Kara averted her eyes and held down the bile that began to rise in her throat, turning off the television. She wondered if Lucy had been notified of the aftermath.

* * *

"No," Dr. Hamilton stated, "She hasn't been told. Frankly, she hasn't even asked. Then again, she's numbed and dazed by the drugs we've prescribed her. We're currently swamped with trying to analyze all of the agents' bodies for any indication of the enemies' synthesized drug, if any. Not only that, the cortex of her brain, particularly the visual section, is especially active. The limbic system as well, contains the amygdala, which controls emotions, is unusually rampant. The cerebral parts I just mentioned all play integral parts in dreams and other mental abnormalities. Those symptoms are commonly found in the victims of Dr. Crane's fear gas, albeit weaker. We'll disclose the information on the Pentagon with her briefly as she's already suffering from the psychological ordeal of her capture."

"No," Kara sighed, rubbing her forehead, registering the information, "I'll do it."

The doctor cocked an eyebrow, " _You're_ going to tell Director Lane? With all due respect, Supergirl, I've noticed you two haven't exactly been on the _best_ of terms. I'm not sure if she'll even _want_ to listen to the information you relay to her, especially since it's so traumatic and that her brain is quite unstable at the moment."

"In my defense," the blonde argued, "I do think that she needs to receive the news from someone she's close to, in a gentle and sympathizing manner, not with a factually monotone voice."

Dr. Hamilton was uncertain and peered at the hero momentarily, "Alright, I'll leave it to you then I guess."

Kara nodded and thanked the doctor before heading over to visit Lucy at the infirmary. She knocked and heard a mumbled "come in" before pressing onto the door, creaking it open.

The brunette was sitting at the edge of her bed, swaying a bit from the heaviness of her medication. She rotated her head and her face immediately took on a sullen expression, her gaze grim and bleak. Her voice was somber in tone, "Kara..."

The blonde moved to sit across from her, their knees barely touching, "Hey... How are you feeling?"

Their awkwardness was mutual.

"I-I'm fine, the meds are wearing off so the pain is kind of..." her voice became aggravated, "irritating."

Kara's worry broke the surface and she stood up, preparing to make her way out, "Oh, d-do you want me to, ummm...c-call the nurse?"

Lucy suddenly grabbed the blonde's wrist before she could move, "Wait."

"A-Are you sure? I mean, I don't have a problem with it if that's what you're wondering. I just want you to feel better and-"

"Kara."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Stay," the soldier's voice was insistent, and she relinquished her grip as the hero quietly sat back down.

A weighty silence enveloped the atmosphere, their nervous heartbeats deafening their ears.

"I'm sorry," they said in unison. Both of them gaped at each other in surprise.

"W-What?" Lucy said.

Kara sighed, her guilt bubbling over, "After I...killed Lex Luthor...you were always there for me. You made sure I was comfortable every single second, you gave me space, you helped me with things I couldn't do. You prioritized my needs. You even minded the little details. You never asked for anything, for a thanks, never even expected one. I want you to know that I really appreciate you, but I still let my remorse get in the way between us, and I only ended up hurting you back. All I did was give you pain during that time. Then you were captured and I just..." she trailed off, "I thought that by severing our relationship I'd be protecting you from people out to get me. I was wrong, and I was afraid of loss, but I still love you so much."

Lucy clasped the distressed hero's hand and squeezed earnestly, "Kara, it's okay. My love for you never faded away either. You don't need to apologize. You were experiencing a lot of misery. I understand. Don't beat yourself up over that. It was your way of coping and I'm really glad that you've come to terms with what happened."

"That doesn't excuse the way I treated you."

"If you want my forgiveness, you have it, but there was nothing to be sorry for in the first place. And I was so scared for your safety too. When they used me as bait to lure you in and threatened to torture you. Seeing your fight with Shiva and Zsasz made me so uneasy," the brunette was openly troubled and perturbed by the memories of Kara's near-death experiences, "I couldn't do anything... I was so numbed from the drug I could barely move a muscle."

"But Lucy, you _did_ do something. You gave me time, you basically saved my ass back there."

"You did that for me as well," the soldier smiled gratefully, "I only have broken bones and bruises, which they said might take a few more hours to completely heal because of that serum, and my systems are completely fine. Without your intervention I don't think I'd be here right now."

Kara stroked the back of her partner's palm with her thumb, voice breaking, "I need you... I'll be by your side as fast as lightning whenever you're in danger."

"The same goes for you," Lucy brushed the blonde hair obscuring her lover's face and tilted her chin up, "After all of your close-calls with death, I'm not sure if I can leave your side."

"Likewise," Kara agreed, smiling, "And maybe we can start over. I've missed you, and most of your stuff is still in my apartment."

The brunette's voice oozed with enthusiasm, "Of course," then her eyebrows creased and her expression hardened, "By the way...do you know what happened with the mission at the Pentagon?"

Kara froze, her mouth open, but no sound came out. The Kryptonian could hear Lucy's heartbeat skip a beat and finally she spoke, "Everyone that was present during the attack...they were all killed..."

It took a moment for the brunette to process what she had just heard, "W-What?"

The taller woman sighed, her expression somber, "Your dad, everyone...they're gone. I'm so sorry..."

"That's...that's not possible...I sent at least thirty agents there."

"J'onn sent another thirty with some more backup on the way after I warned them. Nobody made it out alive..."

Lucy clenched her fists and began to breath heavily. She stared at her palms and unwelcome memories flooded her mind; her comrades, her agents, people she cared about...their bloody and tragic deaths flashing across her eyes.

Kara immediately detected a spike in the soldier's heart rate, its palpitations alarming her. Not long after, she began to hyperventilate and shake. The brunette started to sweat, she knew she was having a panic attack; it had been years ago since her last, but she was familiar with the feeling, and she felt that this was the worst it could get.

"Hey. Lucy?" the blonde called out to her, "Lucy!" She cupped her face and attempted to calm the panicking woman, but her eyes were unfocused and darting everywhere.

The hero instantly pressed the call button for the nurse, who was present within a few seconds, both attempting to calm the major down. Eventually, the medic dashed out to find Dr. Hamilton.

Kara attempted to caress the brunette's face and patted her cheek to draw her attention, "Lucy... Lucy, look at me. You're okay. You're safe. Just take some even breathes. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Do it with me, okay?"

This time, Lucy's eyes focused on Kara's sea blue irises, beginning to feel much calmer. Though her mind was still in a state of panic, her breaths harmonized with the blonde's and eventually their heartbeats synced.

"Alright, there. Better?" Kara gave a compassionate smile, which was reciprocated with a tight hug.

"What's going on?" Dr. Hamilton demanded, bolting through the door.

"I think that she had a panic attack," Kara replied, brushing through Lucy's hair and rubbing her back in smooth circles.

"I assume that's your cue to leave. Director Lane needs rest without someone causing her throes and tribulations all willy-nilly, we'll restart the morphine right now."

"No!" the patient shouted defiantly, "I need Supergirl to stay with me."

"You know that's against protocol," Kara murmured, stroking her arm.

Dr. Hamilton observed their exchange and determined that it would be best to concede, she coughed through her awkwardness, "Actually...since I double as your personal doctor and psychiatrist, I think it might be more beneficial for you to have her stay then, if that's your wish."

The physician sauntered over to the IV machine and resumed the flow of the morphine before quickly heading out of the room.

Kara gently leaned Lucy back onto the bed and pulled the sheets to cover her body, "I'll be sitting over here if you need me, okay?"

The brunette desperately wanted to be right next to her but declined to act upon her inclination and let the drowsiness inundate her senses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	12. Rekindled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The death of Lucy's father as made a significant impact, causing her to fall onto the road leading to a deep depression. Right…over Kara's dead body that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Rekindled

* * *

The blonde was disturbed from her slumber due to a shuffling sound. She glanced at her surroundings and noticed that it must be late at night as the lights were off with only the dimness of the hallway from the cracks of the door shining through. The scuffling sound's intensity increased and the source was from Lucy's exertion against the bed; she was muttering and sweating buckets.

A nightmare.

She carefully maneuvered her way towards the brunette and scooted into the blankets, locking her arms around the scarred woman. It took her a moment to realize that she was calling out her name in a worried manner.

Kara's voice was affectionate, "Shhh...it's just a nightmare. Don't worry, I'm here, and I don't plan on going anywhere. What were you dreaming about?"

The patient stirred from her sleep, registering the warmth of the embracing body. Tears fell from her eyes and she leaned into the Kryptonian's shoulder, sniffling, monitoring the strong heartbeat resonating from her chest, "We...we were walking home when...Zsasz, Shiva...all of them...they ambushed us. We tried to escape, but they got me, and I couldn't move, so I told you to run, but..."

Lucy trailed off, her voice choking, "You wouldn't run. You stayed, protected me, and _died_. It all happened so fast. It was my fault. It was all my fault. I tried to get you, but there were too many of them and..."

"No," Kara stated simply, "No, it's not. What happened in your nightmare, it's not real; it doesn't mean anything, you're traumatized from the time you were captured, and the drug is messing with your head. The doctors said that you'd have some vivid nightmares for the next few days. Know that I'm right here next to you. I promise I won't leave you."

The blonde began to hum a tune and rested her chin on the soldier's head.

Lucy whispered, mostly to herself, "Just because it wasn't real doesn't mean that it can't be..."

Kara's expression saddened, and she tightened her embrace, which was reciprocated with a light squeeze from the human in her arms.

The blonde began to sing, shy and weak at first, but her voice became more strong and clear, " _I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more."_

Lucy clutched the Kryptonian's shirt, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla and almonds, reveling in the comforting, rich voice.

" _Time stands still. Beauty in all she is. I will be brave; I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me. Every breath, every hour has come to this._ "

Lucy let the song lull her back to a peaceful rest.

* * *

" _The last time you were in charge of the D.E.O., you sent troops with Kryptonite artillery to eliminate Supergirl," Lucy scoffed, "Unbelievable still...you almost killed the source of all of National City's hope."_

" _It was for a perfectly good reason," General Lane defended._

" _And now you're ordering your men to_ torture _her in the most painful way possible? A hero who's only been beneficial and a Samaritan to society?"_

" _I was trying to_ protect _you."_

" _From what? She'd never hurt me," the brunette nearly shouted, then confessed, "She loves me. And I love her."_

 _He was startled at the proclamation, a look of disappointment and rage flashed across his face, "You can't be that naïve._ Love _? She may look like a person, but she's an alien, an outsider, they aren't like us. Lucy, she's only using you and your position as cover. She's dangerous."_

 _The woman huffed, "The only person here that's dangerous is_ you _. You're so bigoted and narrow-minded about aliens. You assume there are threats and create them when there're none. I'm not letting you use the D.E.O. anymore. And this is because of what happened to Mom, isn't it?"_

"Don't _bring her into this, Lucile!" he snarled._

" _As for Supergirl," Lucy continued, "She's my family now, so find a way to deal with it, or you're out of my life. For good."_

_The young soldier stormed out of the office, leaving the dismayed general sitting at his desk._

* * *

The brunette let silent tears escape as she reminisced and mused over her last words to her father, conspicuously distraught over their final conversation.

The funeral was strangely barren. Lucy knew the reason, but it did not make it any less eerie; there was a patriotic ceremony for the highly decorated general and the squadrons that served under him. She decided to not attend it as both her and Lois determined that they would feel too uncomfortable being in the presence of complete strangers while they mourned.

Today was strictly a family gathering, but Lucy begged Kara to come with her. The younger Lane was never all too close with her extended relatives since she joined the military, in fact, some of them really did not like her as much as they did with Lois, who was always the shining star of the family. She did not mind too much, although she used to. Not to mention the more conservative side gave her and Kara judgmental glances as they held hands. The blonde could hear their grumblings about how their relationship was "disgusting", "sodomized", "against God's will", or that it was "just a phase". She did not even need to tell the younger Lane what they were saying as she most likely knew just from deducing their attitudes.

Once the wake was over and Lucy returned to the car, Kara remained at Samuel Lane's grave for a minute, hesitantly placing flowers on top of his casket, gently stroking the mahogany wood and made a vow, "I'll defend Lucy now. I swear. I'll protect her with my life. And I'll do everything in my power to make her the happiest person on Earth."

The blonde could not help but wonder what would have happened if he had lived to see his daughter's happiness with her. The brunette admitted that he was very stubborn and very conservative, but his family's happiness was ultimately his priority, and that he would have warmed up to her if she gave him the time.

The couple shared the loss of their parents, and they both regretted that they would never be able to formally meet each other's mothers and fathers.

* * *

The entirety of the journey home was mute, filled with a reserved stillness while Kara drove. She glanced over at her partner, Lucy's empty gaze towards the dismal, gray skies were brimming with despondence. In turn, it even made the blonde's expression become doleful. She reached for the brunette's hand and wrapped her fingers around it, gently squeezing, which was returned with a somber smile.

They arrived back at the apartment and Lucy decided to remain in bed for the rest of the day. The sky accompanied the mood by beginning to cry. This time, Kara made dinner and delivered it to her bed, then traveled to the kitchen to grab the garbage bag, "Luce, I'm going to take the trash out. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Yeah," came the barely audible reply.

The blonde frowned slightly before walking out of the apartment, slinging the large bag over her shoulders and heading down the flights of stairs.

The night was devoid of stars, the moon's presence the only source of natural light. Kara propped open the slippery lid of the dumpster and emptied the rubbish. As she was rushing to leave the rain, there was a rustle followed by a peculiar strangled sound. The Kryptonian moved towards the source and scanned under the crevasse of the waste bin to find an emaciated cat.

As she lifted the large canister the creature scrambled to its paws and scurried away, but it was no match for the super speed of the alien. She cradled the feline in her arms; it was soft, but its hair was matted and dirty. However, Kara did make out the tabby pattern of the orange coat and gently stroked the animal until it fell to a comfortable position, purring, "Hey, little guy... Let's get you to a safer place."

The cat seemed content to be out of the cold sleet and in a relatively warmer space, though it remained cautious as the surroundings remained unfamiliar. However, the feline's cozy mood became unpleasant once the blonde dipped its paws into the toasty bath water. The struggles proved futile as the Kryptonian's invulnerable skin ended up clipping the cat's claws. By the time the trial came to an end, what was left of the small creature's trust for humans completely dissolved.

Of course, its faith was restored once Kara prepared a dish of tuna for the starving feline. Its mouth watered in anticipation, then it boldly crept from the shadows of the sofa, carefully nibbling the edge of the plate before making a pig of itself. It crammed and gorged the feast, neglecting to chew and ignoring any fine dining manners; the digesting part of the dinner would likely be painful, but it was worth it.

The cat meowed in satisfaction, its bloated belly weighing it down to the couch. Kara decided to spend the night cuddling next to the tabby as Lucy already fell asleep, and the brunette was an especially light sleeper when she was in a sour mood.

The superhero had secretly hoped that her partner would be ecstatic with a new addition to their home.

She was right.

The first thing Kara did when she heard her roommate stirring from her slumber was burst into the bedroom and toss the yelping cat onto her prone body, yelling, "Surprise!"

Unfortunately, the feline's claws engaged, pricking the brunette's skin, causing her to shout in shock and topple over the edge of the bed onto the hardwood floor. The sharp pain contracted and the cat dashed into Kara's arms, "Lucy, meet Mufasa! He's our newest member!"

The blonde had the dorkiest grin splattered on her face.

Lucy dusted herself off and stood up, "What the hell? When? How?"

"Just yesterday!"

"I don't recall adopting a pet, did you get him just last night?"

"Yeah! While I took out the trash!" the hero nodded enthusiastically.

"Leave it to Kara Danvers to pick up a stray in the most peculiar situations," the brunette chuckled lightly, "You usually throw something _out_ when you go to empty the garbage, _not_ bring something _in_."

"But he's so cute!"

"How do you even know it's a boy?"

The blonde's face deadpanned, she dangled the feline in the air, exhibiting his body.

"Ahem," Lucy coughed, "Oh, right..."

"We're keeping him," Kara stated nonchalantly.

"I wasn't planning on kicking him out, but you know..." the soldier started, frowning, "We _are_ pretty busy with our jobs at the D.E.O. so Mu would get pretty lonely."

The Kryptonian tilted her head to the side, oblivious to the subtle assertion, "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that we should probably get him some company," Lucy smiled.

Kara registered as to what she was implying and gasped, her excitement bubbling, "Really?"

The brunette quickly slid into some casual clothes before grabbing her purse, "How about a dog?"

* * *

As they were on their way to the adoption center, the young Danvers decided to notify her older sister of the joyous information via cell phone.

"Alex!" Kara called, activating the speaker.

Lucy chuckled, sipping her hot coffee in the passenger seat with Mufasa sitting on her lap.

"What?" the agent's voice sounded worried, "Is something wrong?"

"Wha...n-no."

"Jesus Christ, don't scare me like that then!"

"I'm sorry! I'm just excited!"

"Okay, I know you're usually a cheerful person, but you sound particularly happy today. What's up?"

The blonde chirped, "Lucy and I have some really great news!"

Alex gasped, elated, "You guys have a baby!"

The brunette choked violently, spitting out her coffee onto the dashboard, alarming the small cat. Kara nearly steered the car into oncoming traffic, tires squealing. They were both very clearly caught off guard.

"What the hell?"

"Kara, you're an alien," came the monotone reply, "Being Kryptonian itself opens several possibilities."

Lucy laughed, "Danvers, as much as I love babies, this isn't the good news."

Alex continued, "Damn, you guys aren't having children? I've always wanted to be an aunt... But if you two aren't having kids then what's all this thrilling hubbub about?"

"We're going to adopt a cat and a dog!"

Kara's excited voice pierced the agent's ears, "So, same thing... _technically_ you guys are moms. And I'm pretty much an aunt! When's the wedding!"

The blonde became flustered and Lucy's face flushed, both of them grinning sheepishly along with their rosy cheeks. They were speechless for a moment.

"Guys?" Alex called, "Hello? Don't tell me you're busy blushing to death."

Their faces flamed an intense cherry red at the sentence that followed, something about the couple "being Oxford dictionaries in the streets and Urban dictionaries in the sheets". Kara stuttered a "can you not" followed by a goodbye and hung up on her older sister.

Once they found a parking and were done blushing the shit out of themselves, they entered the adoption center with Mufasa in Lucy's arms. He jittered timidly as the ruckus of the facility was frightening. The brunette soothingly scratched behind the tabby's little ears in an attempt to calm him.

Kara motioned for Lucy to linger around the waiting room while she spoke to the clerk about the animals to prevent Mufasa from becoming more uneasy. When she returned, she had a list of several dogs that were at least family-friendly and got along with other animals.

"So, they narrowed it down to Astrid and Waffles, which one do you want to check out first?"

They wandered through the maze of cages that were filled with the loveliest of aromas: shit, with a tinge of saliva, accompanied with the yapping and howling of every dog in the vicinity.

Waffles was a mix of a dachshund and a basset hound, it had short legs and an elongated body complete with extremely large ears that nearly sagged to the floor like Dumbo the elephant. Unfortunately, if Mufasa's hissing was of any indication, he definitely did not like Waffles in the least bit.

However, he was more willing to sniff through Astrid's cage to investigate. Their noses grazed and the cat jumped back at the touch before sauntering over to the cage once again. The volunteers mostly called her Asa, but she answered to both; she was an elegant silvery-gray saluki with a very reserved and quiet personality. She was about medium sized, only reaching a height of about three feet, or one meter, from head to paw. Her deep chest and long legs allowed her to move with grace and finesse, and her ears drooped down from her narrow skull. Astrid's furry coat was especially soft, silky, and feathery to the couple's curious fingertips.

"How do you guys like Asa?" a volunteer chirped, skipping his way towards the two browsing ladies.

Lucy scooped Mufasa up and made to stand, followed by Kara.

"She's the one," they both said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	13. Carnival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lucy attend a carnival festival for the hero's birthday. Eliza Danvers finally gets to meet Kara's gal pal. Alex, Winn, James, Lucy, and a special guest, hold a birthday party for Kara back at the apartment.
> 
> **TRIGGER WARNING: SOME NAUGHTY TIMES IN THE BEGINNING AND END.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Carnival

* * *

"Lucy..." Kara groaned, "Where're we going, and are we there yet?"

The brunette kept her eyes on the road, but released her hand from their intertwining fingers to slap her partner on the arm, "Don't be so impatient, birthday girl! We're almost there!"

Kara began to trace feather light patterns on the top of Lucy's hand, then the brunette unlaced their fingers and placed her palm on the blonde's thigh, her hand relaxed and opted to rest on the smooth fabric of the dress.

Kara pouted, running her fingers through her thick blonde locks of hair, resting her elbow and head against the passenger window, beginning to hum a tune.

Lucy saw the action from the corner of her eye and could not help but admire the alien's beauty; to her, it was literally out of this world.

It had been quite a while since they were able to spend some alone time together due to work. Kara often came home earlier and when an eager Lucy returned to the apartment late at night, she was disappointed to see the blonde already sleeping, so her hopes were crushed and she resorted to cuddling instead. The fact that some of Kara's everyday habits unintentionally aroused the brunette proved more than unhelpful.

Lucy grumbled at her bitter thoughts, automatically setting her foot gently on the brake when a red light flashed. She was keen on undressing her partner soon, hopefully. Her face heated and she could feel a blush rise into her cheeks as she thought of that.

"Luce?" Kara asked, "Something wrong?"

The brunette flushed, "W-Wha – no. No, nothing's wrong."

"Really? Your heart rate kind of sped up," she stated, "And your face is kind of red, what're you thinking abou – oh."

Lucy bowed her head down sheepishly and mumbled, "Yeah...oh."

Kara grinned, leaning over to caress her girlfriend's cheek, pulling her towards herself, then she whispered, "Tonight then. I'll let you do whatever you want."

The brunette gulped, the puff of air in her ear causing her own to cease.

Kara placed her hand on Lucy's inner thigh, dangerously close. She felt another hot breath against her neck before the blonde decided to take her earlobe between her teeth, pulling. Lucy nearly moaned at the pressure. Kara's teeth reached the end and made a quiet, though still resounding, clack.

"Then you can tell me what to do," the blonde alluringly purred in her ear, sending shivers down Lucy's spine.

Kara was very rarely brazen, and she knew how that made her partner feel, which made it that much more of a turn on to the brunette. Lucy rotated her head and as she was about to meet her girlfriend's lips, Kara grinned devilishly and pulled back to her seat before they could make contact.

The brunette gave a low growl to showcase her dissent.

"Light is green, Luce," she simply stated, the smirk and coy playfulness in her eyes remaining undaunted, before turning to face the front of the dashboard.

Lucy exhaled sharply, clearly frustrated, "You can't just seduce me and then leave me hanging like that."

"Don't worry," Kara chuckled, pecking her annoyed girlfriend on the cheek, "We'll have plenty of time tonight, and Kryptonians tend to have a lot of stamina."

The brunette knew she would not be able to keep herself under control for much longer. Then she remembered that Alex was planning a surprise party back at the apartment once the couple was finished spending time together, causing her to groan.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Kara squealed with excitement, "A carnival!"

She hugged Lucy tightly, causing the small human to choke out, "Too tight."

The blonde set her fragile girlfriend down, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I was just too excited and-"

Lucy raised her index finger to silence Kara's lips, "Shush. No rambling. So what do you want to start with?"

"Rides of course!"

As much as the brunette prided herself in being fearless, she was the exact opposite when it came to flying, rollercoasters, and horror movies, which she recalled Winn and Alex agreeing to watch Paranormal Activity for the night.

After about an hour or so of riding the most terrifying attractions, Lucy was dangerously close to vomiting, and had to support herself against a pole to stabilize her vision for several minutes.

Kara decided to be finished with the rides and scanned the rows and columns of tents holding different games: darts, tic-tac-toe, break-a-plate, down-a-clown, miniature golf, skeeball, gone fishin', basket toss...

"Let's do something light," Kara pointed to a small stand a few feet away.

"A guessing booth?" Lucy chuckled, placing her hands on her hips.

"I bet I can get the closest to guessing how many Skittles are in that jar against you."

The brunette squinted her eyes, "You're on, so what are we betting?"

"Winner gets a kiss."

"But that's a win for the both of us."

"Exactly, so we'll both be happy," the alien nodded enthusiastically.

"Hah, I majored in mathematics."

"But I can speak nine languages fluently."

"That has nothing to do with this game!" Lucy scoffed, and after about a minute or so of inspecting the glass container, she confidently estimated, "Three-hundred-ninety-six."

"Four-hundred-twenty-three."

The host widened his eyes, "W-Wow...Glasses got it. Exact too."

"Aha!" Kara cheered, leaning her head down towards her grumpy girlfriend, feeling a peck on the cheek.

"How?" the brunette complained, then it suddenly came to her, so she whispered harshly, "I can't believe I completely forgot about your x-ray vision."

The alien feigned offense, "How dare you accuse me of cheating! Even if I were to use it, it would've taken me ages to count."

"Then how?"

Kara whispered, "Alien math."

"Damn aliens," Lucy muttered, "I'm choosing the game this time. To the shooting range!"

"What?" the blonde objected, "That's not fair, I've never held a gun in my life!"

The soldier winked, grabbing her girlfriend's hand and dragging her away, "First time for everything, plus you'll probably beat me with your oh-so-advanced alien intelligence. Winner gets to be the artist for the loser at the face paint booth."

That doesn't sound so bad.

Kara was wrong.

"Ta-da!" Lucy sang, showing a mirror to reveal that the blonde now had a curly mustache, goatee, monacle, and...a penis on her forehead.

Kara yelped in shock and glared daggers before tackling, or hugging, the soldier to the ground.

Lucy finally stopped laughing after a minute and the blonde huffed, rubbing the black paint, causing it to smudge, "You're a jerk."

They both stuck their tongues out.

The brunette chuckled and winked, "Well, you've got to admit...you're kind of a dick too."

Kara groaned at the pun, continuing to smudge the vulgar drawing off of her forehead, which ended up giving the alien a huge unibrow, "I'm going to wash this off. Jerk."

"You know you love this jerk though."

The blonde hummed with delight, kissing Lucy's lips, "Yeah...you're right, I can't stay mad at you. I'll be right back."

With that, the Kryptonian bounded off to the nearest restroom, leaving Lucy to her own devices.

She sighed contentedly before her eyes wandered to a large stuffed puppy, large enough that her arms would not be able to wind all the way around its plushy, fat body.

The brunette slammed some bills down onto the counter, "Bring it on..."

* * *

Kara's phone rang and she checked the screen.

Ten missed calls from her older sister.

Her heart missed a beat, she was so preoccupied with having fun with Lucy, so she immediately dialed the number back.

"Alex?" the blonde called out worriedly.

"Kara, I really need your help right now," the voice on the other line whispered, sounding panicked.

"What's wrong? Where are you? I thought you were babysitting the pets?"

"Your dog is sleeping on my lap," came the harsh whisper, "And your cat refuses to get off of my shoulders."

The blonde took a minute to register what she just heard, then burst out in tears of laughter, "You scared me half to death! I thought it was an emergency!"

"It is an emergency!"

"Just get up then?"

"I don't want to disturb them! I had a hard time reaching for my phone on the coffee table and it's a foot in front of me!"

Kara chuckled.

"Don't laugh, this is serious! What am I supposed to do?"

"Well," the blonde coughed, regaining her bearings, "I honestly wouldn't move no matter how uncomfortable it is, you're basically a sinner if you do."

There was a groan from the other line, "Okay fine, bye."

"See you, sis," Kara snickered, "Good luck."

She hung up and unlocked the handle's mechanism and swung the door open to be greeted with a large plush dog.

Lucy's face popped up from the stuffed animal, "Happy birthday!"

The blonde jumped with joy, lifting the shorter woman off the ground and spinning her in circles jovially. She finally set her down and pressed their foreheads against each other, "I love you so much."

"Love you too."

Their intimacy increased as they shared a kiss.

"It's eight already..." Kara gasped.

"Really? Time doesn't slow down enough when I'm with you."

The blonde chuckled, "Ready to meet Eliza?"

The soldier had not been this nervous since leading her first squadron into the battlefield back in her days in the Army, but she decided to digest the butterflies in her stomach, "Yeah."

* * *

"So you're Lucy Lane?" Eliza said, astonished, "Kara, you were wrong! She is very beautiful!"

"Eliza!" the blonde cried, turning to her lover, "Don't listen to her! I did not say that!"

Lucy laughed, she felt at ease, and was thankful that Ms. Danvers was not stern like Alex.

"I'm just messing with you guys," the older woman snickered before stuffing a cookie in her mouth, "I only approve of you because Kara said you were the best baker in the world."

"Oh, thank you, Ms. Danvers!"

"Please, call me Mom,"

"Eliza!" Kara shouted, her face reddening alongside Lucy's.

"I think the best I can do is call you Eliza," the brunette said, letting out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I just love messing with you guys!" Ms. Danvers confessed.

"No kidding," Kara said under her breath, folding her arms and pouting.

"This's just the first time she's introduced me to a girlfriend. Well, not like she introduced any boyfriends before. I was expecting her to come home with some sort of horrid alien species or something."

The blonde responded with a long groan, "Stop..." Then she smashed her face into a pillow to release a muffled scream.

Lucy was very entertained with the Danvers.

Eliza continued, "And this is probably the last time she'll introduce someone this special to me judging by how she looks and gushes about you. 'Oh, Lucy is so amazing', 'she's so beautiful and smart', 'I want to give her the world', 'I love it when she does this and that'...please, I could go on forever."

The brunette blushed furiously, "She really thinks all that?"

Eliza was shocked, "She doesn't tell you?"

"No, she does...I just didn't know she told others."

Ms. Danvers howled, "Oh boy does she! To anyone who'll listen. Alex and I just ignore her now."

Lucy turned to face her girlfriend, who was peeking through the crack of the pillow, equally as red.

The brunette had no one to gush about Kara to; her mother had passed away long ago, her father as well, but he would have remained steely and distant from her. Then there was Lois...and Lucy did not think her older sister would welcome stories of her late husband's cousin with open arms.

Eliza finished around half the baked goods already, "Wow, honey! You're lucky you chose a great cook! Lucy, do you bake for her?"

The soldier grinned, "Almost every morning..."

"Why?"

The brunette buried her face in her hands and mumbled something unintelligible.

"What, sweetie?"

Her volume increased slightly, "Because I like it when she smiles."

Suddenly Lucy felt arms encircling her torso.

"Oh...I'm so happy for the both of you!" Eliza sniffled, holding the tears back and releasing the soldier from her grip, opting to place her hands on her shoulders, "So when will I get my grandchildren?"

A very awkward silence ensued, then...

"Okay, Eliza, I think this meeting went very well, but we don't have a lot of time on our hands so we're going to have to leave," Kara said, rushing through her words and dragging a dumbfounded Lucy away.

* * *

"That's bull!" Winn shouted, "I totally had that one!"

"Not before I called time," Alex said.

"But you're Kara's sister, you're biased!" Carter pointed out.

The auburn-haired woman shrugged, "Maybe a little bit."

James sighed, "Looks like we're no match for them at charades."

Kara jumped with joy and cheered, "Woohoo!"

The blonde and her girlfriend shared a high five and Astrid galloped over to her mothers, settling her bum on Lucy's lap. She barked, vying for attention.

"Alright, Asa," Kara chuckled, stroking the dog's silky coat. She glanced over to the cat tree where a ball of orange, streaky fur was curled up, "It doesn't look like Mu is as happy for us."

Astrid sauntered over to the tree and stood on her hind legs, insistent that Mufasa join the festivities.

He refused to budge and gave a tired meow before returning to sleep.

The blonde pouted, "That spoiled brat."

Lucy chuckled and turned to the opposing charades team, "Don't be bitter, boys, you did win all the card games."

"Yeah," Winn let out a laugh and elbowed Carter's ribs, "Because you saved James's and my ass so many times."

The young boy grinned, his pearly white teeth rivaling Kara's, "Mom is great at that kind of stuff, I'm not very good compared to her."

"Don't be so modest, kid," James smiled, "There's no shame in showing a little pride."

Kara frowned though, "I'm still kind of sad that J'onn couldn't make it..."

"You mean that he didn't want to make it," Alex corrected, "He's not really a party person."

"Who's J'onn," Carter asked, perplexed.

The three women froze, a chorus of 'um''s and 'uh''s resonating.

"He's my dad," James quickly said.

"Why would you invite your dad to this party?"

"Well, we were going to invite Ms. Grant as well if she wasn't so busy," Kara rushed, then sighed in relief when Carter decided not to ask any more questions.

"I still can't believe Cat Grant let her son hang out with us," Lucy said in disbelief.

"She trusts her assistant," the boy explained, warmly glancing at Kara.

"And the I.T. hobbit to babysit him," Winn added, squeezing the boy's body against his in an affectionate hug, "We're the ultimate bros."

The young man felt a vibration in his back pocket and reached to grab it, reading a text and frowning, "Looks like it's time for Carter to go, his chauffeur is waiting outside."

Everyone groaned, especially the boy who was quite reluctant to leave the party.

"C'mon, kiddo, let's grab your stuff and you can head on out," Winn sighed, picking up Carter's backpack and handing it to him out the door.

"Thanks for inviting me, guys," he said almost solemnly, "Hopefully this isn't the last time we all get to hang out!" He produced a large smile and left, followed by a chorus of many 'goodbye''s.

After a moment, the blonde decided she was unable to hold in her patience any longer and burst out, "Can we cut the cake?"

Alex rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright, I'll get it out."

The younger Danvers squealed with delight, clapping her hands together and rushing to the dining table, followed by the rest of the guests.

After singing the song, Alex pressed her lips against Kara's forehead, "Happy birthday."

Afterwards, Lucy snatched her girlfriend away and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Finally, the blonde cut into the cake, but was startled to a halt when the brunette shouted, "Wait!"

Kara turned to the voice's direction and felt a slap connect to her face. It was cushioned by soft breading and frosting. She narrowed her eyes, "You're going to regret that."

Lucy laughed, darting away from the birthday girl.

"Running is futile, human!" the alien shouted, utilizing her super speed to catch up to the offender, jumping onto her back.

A sound came out of Lucy that was a cross between a scream and a laugh before she collapsed along with Kara, who was tickling her to death in revenge.

Eventually, they got up and walked back over to the group, still laughing their insides out.

"You two are disgusting," Alex gagged.

James had a bright smile on him and Winn rested his chin on the palms of his hands, "I think it's romantic!"

"You're also disgusting," Alex remarked, eliciting a frown from the offended man, then she turned to Kara, "I wonder if Carter would continue to pine over Supergirl if he knew how much of a dork you are."

"He would love her even more," Lucy interjected confidently.

"Maybe you'll have some competition soon, Luce," James chuckled at the woman sticking out her tongue.

"Let's put on the movie," he continued, grinning, "I think the couple wants their romantic alone time soon, so we better get this over with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	14. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun madness ensues. Later comes some romantic fluff with a side of angst and some spilled beans.
> 
> **TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE AND ANGST. SOME NAUGHTY TIMES AT THE END.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Surprise

* * *

As much as Lucy wanted to show everyone that she was a fearless soldier that took no shit from anybody, that façade always broke when she watched horror movies having to do with the paranormal. She could handle blood and gore, but ghosts would always terrify her.

The brunette cowered under the blanket and tugged at Kara's shirt, "They can't possibly be real, can they?"

She was not expecting Alex to answer, "There are millions of different species of aliens living throughout the entire universe and you're questioning whether or not ghosts exist?"

"I wasn't asking _you_."

Kara chuckled, "Alex does have a point."

"That doesn't make me feel better!"

The blonde pressed her lips against Lucy's head, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Except that she fell asleep around thirty minutes into the film, so the brunette ended up enduring Alex's teasing.

Suddenly, Winn jumped at the next scene and ended up making it rain popcorn. He rushed to the garbage can and began to retch at the movie's bodily horror.

Alex scoffed, "Pathetic."

"Heard that!" Winn shouted, then continued gagging.

"It's not my fault you're weak," the auburn-haired woman yelled back.

James made a disgusted look and averted his eyes from the television screen, "I'm going to check on him. It's pretty late too so I think we both should get going."

Once James managed to get Winn back to his normal state, they dashed out with some popcorn in tow.

Alex groaned, "I think they left because they didn't want to clean the mess Winn made."

The older Danvers set her feet on the coffee table and teased, "Mind if I stay over tonight? Got to make sure you kids behave."

Lucy's eyes narrowed, "Oh, well would you look at the time. It's late, maybe you should go as well."

The brunette began to shove the laughing Alex out the door.

"But it's only eleven!"

"It was nice to spend time with you, but I think we should all get to sleep now. Bye!"

Then the door slammed shut, but that did not stop Alex, who shouted at the top of her lungs, "Use protection, kids!"

Lucy swore the whole entire floor was startled awake.

The brunette turned to find that Kara was in a deep sleep. She smiled, lifting the blonde from the sofa and carrying her to the bedroom. She set her down and pulled the blanket over her shoulders, then lay next to her as well, shutting the lights off.

* * *

"Lucy!" a voice called out, then louder, "Lucy! Wake up!"

The brunette startled awake and felt a fountain of wetness trail down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Kara asked, extremely worried. For the past minute, she had been trying to wake her girlfriend up when she was screaming and crying. Hearing the palpitations and spike of the brunette's heart rate scared her half to death as she had never seen a human body react this way, and it was worse because it was Lucy.

She was grateful for Astrid, barking when she sensed something was wrong and laying bey their sides, along with Mufasa.

"Was it a nightma-"

The small human's tears continued to spill over as she hugged the Kryptonian as tightly as she could, vomiting out her dream in a rush of words and in a disorganized fashion.

As much as Kara wanted to keep holding her, she let go of the embrace and placed her hands gently on Lucy's shoulders, "Calm down. Breath, slowly. Tell me what happened."

The blonde patiently waited as the brunette went over the details of her nightmare, skipping over as many of the bloody parts as she could while still maintaining the coherence of the story.

"I bombed Amarah…hundreds of people…then I watched all of my comrades die…and then I killed…"

Kara nodded slowly, her eyes held a bit of understanding and the rest filled with kindness and love. She almost did not know how to react. She knew Lucy had experienced many horrors, but she was always unwilling to talk about it until now.

The Kryptonian connected to her on some level; she recalled seeing many loved ones die during the demise of Krypton. Bloody or not, it still disturbed her.

Kara rested her chin on top of Lucy's head and held her tightly, rubbing her back in soothing circles, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I can't relate to you on a deeper level, that I can't share those memories. I could never imagine what you've been through, but I'm always going to be here for you."

That was what Lucy admired about Kara. The blonde would always make sure she was okay and ask how she was, but probed no further if she sensed any discomfort or uneasiness. However, it did not stop her from subtly checking every once in a while, keeping an eye from a distance. She gave space and when the brunette was ready to talk, she would.

"Try to remember that you're not alone," Kara whispered, cupping Lucy's face, "I'm always willing to talk or listen. The pain that you go through, I want you to share it with me, and I'll share mine with you. I don't want you to hurt alone. If you fall, I'll go down with you, then we can get through it together."

"I was at a dark place. I don't want to drag you down with me," Lucy choked.

There was a moment of silence before Kara spoke up again, "Zehdh."

"What?"

"Family. Home. Belonging," the Kryptonian explained, "Back on Krypton it was a tiv girod, one of the eleven virtues of our flag. I know you don't want me to fall with you, but I want to."

Silence ensued, then the brunette whispered, "What are the others?"

Kara smiled slightly, "Shokh, truth. Urvish, peace. Uchahvia, synergy. Zhguzhor, imagination. Ighai, purity. Tahrao, justice. Jahghah, restraint. Shahrrehth, hope. Gazrhyg, industriousness. Urkynon, altruism."

"Krypton sounds like a nice place to live in…"

"It is – was," Kara corrected herself, "But it wasn't always."

"What do you mean?"

"We had a primitive era too," the blonde mumbled, "Even if we were a technologically advanced race, our society wasn't; we had a caste system: religious, artist, military, and science. They all had representation in the ruling council. My immediate family stood for science. Kal's was the military. The worker caste didn't have representation though. We may have had grand buildings, but we also had slums."

"Did you ever get sick?"

"I've only ever gotten sick twice in my life," Kara smiled, "When I was a child, an epidemic like the flu nearly killed me. Then when I temporarily blew out my powers on Earth, I got a cold."

Lucy listened intently. Her curiosity never gave her any interesting information.

The only details she knew of was that Krypton's red dwarf sun was worshipped as Rao, albeit not praised spiritually. It was around nine billion years old and five times larger than Earth's four and a half billion years old yellow sun. She also thought that Krypton would have rather been chilly as the Rao's surface temperature was around three-thousand Kelvin as opposed to the sun's almost six-thousand Kelvin. Rao was also sixty percent less dense.

Also, Krypton was larger and had four moons and was around nine billion years old, but only had a population of a little over one billion. Earth was four and a half billion years old, but had a population of seven billion.

Astrid whimpered through the silence, but lolled her tongue out once the women stroked her soft fur. Mufasa crept over, and being an attention whore, placed his head under Lucy's palm, purring.

"Come on," Kara coaxed, taking the brunette's palm, pulling, "Let's go outside."

"Outside?" she arched her brow, "I don't know if you've noticed, but it's midnight and it's pouring rain right now."

That did not stop the Kryptonian from lifting the distressed woman into her arms and speeding out the door and onto the lawn.

"Eeek!" Lucy squealed, the droplets soaking her clothes.

Kara interlaced one of their hands and placed the other on the soldier's waist, "I've brushed up on my dancing skills."

The young woman chuckled, "You have such impeccable timing, Danvers. But as _much_ as I'd love to dance with you, there's no music, so unfortunately, we're going to have to go back inside."

"On the contrary, Ms. Lane," Kara countered, inching her face closer, "I can sing."

She cleared her throat, " _I see trees of green, red roses too._ "

They began to waltz, and Lucy had to admit, the blonde was not kidding when she said she 'brushed up'.

The couple spun, stepped here and there, in very fluid and smooth motions while Kara's beautiful voice rang out, " _I see them bloom, for me and you._ "

The brunette twirled under her partner's arm.

" _And I think to myself, what a wonderful world._ "

Eventually, they stilled. They were like statues, their foreheads pressing against each other, bright azures and deep emeralds staring into each other's souls.

Finally, they shared a kiss, their noses bristling over the other.

It was sweet, languid, gentle.

They both thought they could stay like this forever and be happy and content with their lives.

Then a shiver ran up Lucy's spine.

Kara chuckled, "Want to go back inside?"

"Yeah," the brunette laughed, then her teeth chattered, "I also need a hot shower."

* * *

They entered the apartment and found Astrid and Mufasa huddled against each other, the rain and thunder no match for the heaviness of their sleep.

Lucy quickly entered the bathroom and undressed, stepping into the bathtub.

Kara decided to wash herself first thing in the morning and changed into a tank top and some shorts before plopping onto the mattress, her hair tangled and wet from the rain.

She sighed blissfully and felt sleep pulling at her consciousness.

Then the bathroom door clicked open and the blonde walked over to Lucy, hugging her from behind. She did not mind the dampness of the bathrobe her girlfriend was wearing.

The brunette giggled, turned around, and gave her a peck on the cheek, then trailed over to join their lips.

They made their way toward the bed until the back of Kara's knees touched the edge.

Lucy lightly pushed the blonde backwards, and then the Kryptonian was sitting on the mattress, staring up at the goddess before her.

The brunette untied her robe and loosened it until it fully slipped onto the floor.

Kara gulped, her eyes tracing over every centimeter of the woman's flawless skin. To her, everything was flawless when it came to the young Lane.

"Do you like what you see?" Lucy asked in a sultry voice.

Kara was unable to find any words, all vocabulary of the nine languages she spoke tossed right out the window.

The brunette slowly pushed the speechless woman down until her head rested on the pillow underneath, and straddled her hips, moving back and forth torturously slow.

"I'll take your stunned silence as a yes," Lucy smirked.

The pace of the grinding increased slightly, eliciting a moan from Kara, who placed her hands on the brunette's waist and raked the soft skin, causing the woman on top of her to hiss with pleasure.

Then Lucy leaned down, her mouth next to the side of the blonde's head, who bit her bottom lip when she felt a soft puff of breath graze the tip of her ear.

She exhaled, recalling their drive to the carnival, "'Anything I want', you said?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	15. Noonan's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Noonan's

* * *

The day after Kara's birthday the loads of paper work they had to fill out with the adoption center and the nearby veterinarian were finally finished. Asa was quite timid, and whimpered whenever a horn honked or thunder sounded, but not when her companion was with her. Even though Mufasa was pathetically tiny compared to the seemingly giant dog, he was very protective, often hissing back at the offending sounds to keep his friend safe.

The roommates were glad that the new members of their family were getting along swimmingly. They decided to celebrate their "motherhood" by going to Noonan's, a nearby casual restaurant where they often sat at the bar. Kara went usually to have a latte or snack by herself. Lucy, on the other hand, used to share several drinks with James when they were still dating, with the blonde jealously glancing over at the two whenever she dropped by to pick up Cat Grant's coffee from Sean, the owner of the local diner. Kara never had a definitive answer to who she was jealous of. At the time, she was sure she had liked the young photographer, but once she had gotten to know Lucy, she was extremely glad she did not continue to further pursue James. Now that Sean was aware of their blooming relationship, Kara often asked him for tips and tricks with romance, but after several embarrassing dates with Lucy, he had lost all hope for her. However, the brunette did find her clumsiness endearing at least.

In the meantime, Winn had resorted to Siobhan for intimacy, but once she was incarcerated he fell into a slump as there were now two people he cared for that were in prison. However, he began to spend a lot of time with Carter Grant, Cat's son, and actually enjoyed being a nerd and playing video games around him. At the little boy's pleading, his mother willingly offered the programmer a babysitting job for when he was not working as the IT employee at CATCO, and he happily obliged; Winn had always wanted a little brother and it seemed that he was finally " _grant_ ed" that wish as he called it. The other surplus he gained was recognition and respect from Cat Grant, which Kara was a little salty about as it took her a few years to have her name even pronounced correctly.

After the blonde briefly spoke about her woe, she looked out of the window into the bright, morning sky, and suddenly had an epiphany, she blurted out, "Bathtubs are opposite boats."

Sean overheard the statement from behind the counter and quietly buried his face into his hands, trying very hard to stifle a laugh.

Lucy froze, pasta stabbed with a fork midway into her mouth, "W-What?"

"You know how boats are dry and used in bodies of water? Bathtubs are like that except inverted. So, opposite boats, or reverse boats."

The brunette chuckled, "Is this what you do when you're out of it? Let me try…we built the atomic bomb twenty years before we invented colored television."

Kara's mouth gaped, but she quickly closed it and pondered her next wild fact, "Buck and doe are both terms for deer, but buck and dough are both terms for cash."

"Did you know that Cleopatra was the first person in her royal family's history to learn Egyptian, despite having ruled the country for generations?"

"What?" the blonde was baffled, then scoffed, "In the last three-thousand years on Earth, it was calculated that there have only been two hundred-forty years of peace throughout the civilized world. Humans are so primitive…"

Kara stuck her tongue out, and Lucy sipped her tea, "One in five adults believe that aliens are hiding on Earth disguised as humans."

The Kryptonian widened her eyes and whispered, "Really?"

"Really," the brunette smirked.

"A human will eat seventy insects and ten spiders on average while sleeping."

This time the soldier stuck her own tongue out in disgust, "The oldest chewing gum is over nine thousand years old."

"Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete."

"Not as impressive as _certain_ aliens though," Lucy winked, "For humans, we're blind for about an hour a day. It's called saccadic masking or saccadic suppression."

"That's probably the most mind-blowing fact I've heard," Kara gasped, "How?"

"You know the movies that have shaky cameras? They make most people barf because of the blurry movement. Well, when our eyes flick to different focuses, we are temporarily blinded because it's even faster than camcorders. The brain keeps us from getting nauseated by preventing us from noticing the darkness that occurs several times when our eyes are used. Technically, if we make an effort, we can sometimes see a flash of black. The periods of blindness are mostly suppressed though."

It took a moment for the blonde to register the information, then she smiled, already gloating, "I can top that."

"Sure," Lucy teased.

Kara cracked a smirk, "When bar codes are scanned, the computers read the white spaces in between, not the black strips."

The brunette was speechless for a moment and was about to reply when Sean suddenly commented, "What. The. Fuck."

"They… What?" Lucy gasped, "My whole life has been a lie…"

"Looks like she's got you beat, Lane," Sean chortled, cleaning the last of the dirty dishes and setting them in the large dryer.

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms, tapping her fingers, "Looks like I'll need to do some more research."

The blonde rejoiced at her triumph, giving a smug grin and treating herself to another bite of her sticky bun.

If Kara had known the owner before meeting him at Noonan's, she would have thought that he would pursue a more…physically taxing job; he was big and burly, and his full beard and tattooed arms would have definitely intimidated others if he were not so jovial and friendly. Then she recalled, he was in the military for quite a while and rumors suggested that he had participated in some "unconventional" jobs after his discharge, like being a vigilante or hitman. It did not matter to the young hero as long as he was not hurting anyone anymore. Besides, he was very generous towards the homeless population of National City, often donating the extra money from his profits to charity, and handing out the overproduced goods his chefs made. Noonan's was strangely tranquil this day compared to its usual bustling hours. The building was occupied by two tables, one with a single old man enjoying his brunch, and the other with Kara and her gorgeous girlfriend. Lucy was especially familiar with Sean as he had worked with her father, though they were not the closest of friends, they still held respect, and Sean was present at his funeral.

Speaking of his kindness, he also tended to hasten his speech whenever he offered anyone anything, "Okay you two lovebirds, your meals are on the house."

The couple immediately refused, standing up to object and urging that they would pay, but he reiterated, "It's on me!"

They stopped arguing and sat back down, knowing that when Sean made a decision, he would persist, and no one was able to convince him otherwise.

Lucy was nearly done finishing up her pasta before Kara pouted, "Hey, save me some!"

The brunette slid her plate across the table, but the blonde leaned over and took the other end of the noodle in her partner's mouth, and eventually closed the distance between them for a romantic smooch.

"Love you," they both said.

Sean made a gagging noise, "Get a room."

"Or…" Kara teased, "You could avert your eyes."

"You chose a rather vexing sasser here, little Lane," he chuckled heartily at the witty banter.

The jesting gibe diminished and Sean resumed working, tucking the chairs under the tables and wiping down the counters, he sighed at a particularly large dent on it though.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"Well," he gestured to the offending damage, "The last time Supergirl was at the bar, she not only flicked nuts and seeds at all of my expensive alcohol, but she also managed to make an impression on my counter. Now there's a crater in the wood and it's bugging the hell out of me."

Kara's face fell guiltily, and the brunette gently held her hand before replying, "Well, Supergirl's been reverted to her normal self, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

Sean jeered, "What do you guys think happened? Was she high on something? Or did she just have a temper tantrum? Scary though, isn't it? That divine, god-like beings like Supergirl and Superman could just…have some animosity then their conniption would…oh, I don't know, destroy the entire world?"

The Kryptonian's eyes drooped.

"Well," Lucy countered, "I honestly think that she was being controlled, but I also don't think that people should just revoke all of their respect and trust in Supergirl; she's done so much for this city, and the partial destruction of it wasn't directly her fault at all."

"How would you know it wasn't actually just anger? That she just didn't go mad for a few hours?"

"Because…" the brunette said softly, gently stroking her partner's hand, "I believe in her."

Kara looked up, their eyes met and shared their tenderness and devotion to each other.

"Pffft," Sean scoffed, "I don't know… The military gave me some trust issues… And aliens give me the heebie-jeebies."

He paused, then added, "I think it's their tight spandex costumes. Or are they called _Spanx_ now? I don't really know."

The couple could not help but burst out in laughter at his comment.

"So I heard you two ladies got yourselves some pets? How is it so far?"

The blonde was enthused, her perky voice ringing, "We adopted a cat, whose name is Mufasa, and a dog, whose name is Astrid. We're both really loving them, but Mu is kind of settling down a bit, we're still training him to not scratch on all the furniture. Asa's been mostly shy, but she's a good girl. How's Gus?"

Sean gave a very sweet smile, "My old boy actually passed away a few days ago…"

The two women were speechless, before Kara worked up the courage to apologize for the question, "Oh, I-I'm so sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, he was very old and had arthritis, I didn't want the little guy in pain. Hell, I'm getting there too, I can't really do much anymore because of my gout. Being old sucks ass."

They recalled the memory of Gus, a small chocolate dachshund with a long body and tiny legs, but a heart the size of an elephant's. No wonder why it had been so quiet in the café lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


	16. Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader's ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on FF as Local-Asshole.**

# Rise (true/reader's ending)

* * *

"She was pretty nervous the first time, it was kind of cute, she still gets nervous, but she's _very_ good now," Lucy smirked, "Kryptonians have a _lot_ of stamina."

"Oh my God, _stop_ ," Alex gagged, "That's my little _sister_ you're talking about."

"I really like that move she does when…"

" _Enough_!" the older Danvers shouted, playfully shoving Lucy over, "I'm _never_ walking into that apartment _ever_ again without a hazmat suit."

The agent shuddered.

"Relax, Alex," the brunette grinned, "I'll stop now."

"Does that mean I get a niece or nephew?"

It was Lucy's turn to be at a loss for words, "Um…I think I'm good with being a dog and cat mom at the moment, we both are."

"Also, I never asked you guys," she started, "How'd the meeting with my mom go?"

The brunette's face reddened.

Alex laughed, "Wish I was there!"

Lucy groaned, ignoring the comment, "When everything's back to normal, the three of us should go out for girls' night."

"Sounds like fun," the agent smiled.

"But you guys owe me a couple of drinks," the brunette quickly said, "Being with the Danvers sisters really takes a toll on your energy…"

Alex slapped the woman's arm, "Hope you got the proposing plan ready."

"Ugh!" Lucy groaned, "I don't know what to do!"

"You'll figure it out, Director."

* * *

"Mmm…" Kara moaned, "Saving the world really takes it out of you. I could eat a hundred pounds more of pizza and potstickers."

Lucy put her elbows on the dining table and rested her chin in her palms, "What do you think of dessert?"

The brunette winked discreetly. Or so she thought.

Food immediately fell from Alex's mouth and back onto her plate. She got up from her seat and pushed the chair in, setting her dishes in the sink and grabbing her belongings, "Goodbye."

Lucy rolled her eyes and then focused back on the beautiful blonde in front of her.

Kara's cheeks were blushing, she felt heat crawl up her neck and redden her face, "Oh…I, um…well…uh…but my mouth will taste like soy sauce and grease…"

The brunette smirked, brushing her fingers on top of her lover's hand, sending an electrifying jolt up her spine, "There are plenty of other things to taste…"

Kara's eyes widened and she choked on her potsticker, but quickly gulped it down, laughing nervously.

"I'm going to bed, see you soon," the Lane whispered, but once she was halfway to the door, she stopped and walked back, gripping the collar of Kara's shirt, "On second thought…I want you now."

The blonde giggled and let herself be pulled in for a kiss as they made their way into the bedroom.

Kara pushed Lucy against the mattress, straddling her and pinning her hands against the blanket. She trailed her lips against her neck and the woman let out a high-pitched moan.

The blonde whispered in her ear, "Be quiet, you'll wake the entire floor up."

"I could say the same to you," Lucy smirked, shoving her hands in Kara's pants, who gave a squeak.

"Already?" the brunette breathed in her ear.

Kara sighed, connecting their lips once again, this time more passionate and intense as she forced her tongue into Lucy's mouth, who moaned in delight.

"I need these off," the Kryptonian panted, tugging at the hem of the woman's pants, then using her super speed to rip the clothes away.

"Hey," she whined, "I liked that shirt."

Before the human knew it, her bra was taken off as well.

Lucy flipped their positions so she was on her partner's lap instead, "Can't let you have all the fun now, can I?"

She pulled the blonde up, still straddling her, and began to unbutton the shirt while rocking her hips. Kara placed her hands against Lucy's waist, stabilizing the motion as the grinding was losing rhythm and gradually getting more frantic and uneven.

The blonde shrugged her shirt off and tossed it to the side along with her bra, then pulled the human closer until their naked chests pressed against each other.

Lucy trailed her hands down the toned abs and unbuckled the Kryptonian's jeans, panting, "Off. Now."

It was not until then that Kara felt a wet spot accumulating through the fabric and gladly shook off the offending article of clothing.

Lucy roughly pushed Kara back onto the mattress, who whined.

"Sorry, Supergirl, the hero goes first. Then you can have your turn," the brunette sighed, chuckling at her partner's annoyed growl before pulling at the hem of her panties.

* * *

"'You'll wake the entire floor up,'" Lucy mocked, repeating Kara's words from last night, "Says the person who woke the entire floor up."

"Not the _entire_ floor!" the blonde countered, rubbing the back of her neck, "Just…just next door is all…"

"It's okay," Lucy shrugged, eating the pasta from her fork and following up with a swig of her liquor. The next sentence she said caused some heads to turn, "At least I know you _really_ enjoyed it."

"Luce!" Kara whispered harshly, making a pouty face, "We're in a restaurant!"

The brunette waved her hand, ignoring her complaint, "Can I borrow your chap stick by the way?"

The alien groaned, reaching into her purse, "Just…like…can you put your finger on it and then…" The blonde made a gesture, mimicking the action people do when applying things on their lips.

Lucy's jaw dropped, her brows arching in confusion, "Kara, my _tongue_ has literally been _in_ your mouth."

"Quiet!" the blonde shushed, knees bumping the table to cover her girlfriend's mouth from across. She darted her eyes all over the area and thankfully only a few turned their heads.

"Okay…" Kara said, straightening her dress, leaving the money on the table, and dragging her date outside, "You've had a _little_ too much to drink there, plus it's dark, we should probably head home…"

"I'm perfectly fine!" Lucy protested, removing the grip on her wrist. She wobbled for a few seconds before stabilizing her stance, "Oh! I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

The brunette spun on her heels, her dress twirling along, nearly falling over. She rested on one knee and held out a box showcasing the charm necklace she made for her beloved. Lucy's head was bent down as she was extremely nervous, "Ummm…will you…marry me?"

A few seconds passed and there was no reply, the proposer felt butterflies brewing in the pit of her stomach.

A sniffle coaxed the brunette to look up to see her lover's teary face, whose hand was covering her mouth in shock.

"W-what?" Lucy had a hurt expression and staggered up to meet the azure eyes she so adored, then she mumbled softly, "Why're you crying? Did you really think that I wasn't going to want to spend the rest of my life with you? For God's sake, I _love_ you!"

Kara laughed, stumbling over her words, "Of course I want to marry you! I'm happy, but kind of frustrated too…"

"Frustrated?" she gasped.

"Yeah!" the blonde replied, reaching into her purse to pull out a box with a ring, "You beat me to it!"

Lucy tackled her fiancée, embracing her in a tight hug and began to cry as well.

Kara stroked her future wife's cheek and whispered, "Love you too."

The couple was unaware of the filming, cheering, and clapping people that surrounded them when they shared an affectionate kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**

**Author's Note:**

> **Constructive criticism appreciated.**


End file.
